Dutch political party PVND formed by paedophiles disbanded

A Dutch political party formed by self-described pedophiles has voted to disband itself after failing for the second time to participate in national elections in June.

The group, which sought to lower the age of sexual consent to 12, says it could not get the 600 signatures necessary to win a place on the ballot in a country of 16.5 million. It would need 60,000 votes to win a seat in the 150-member Dutch parliament.

The party also failed to meet the threshold in 2006, when its creation caused international outrage

The group's founders said today that the debate about the party had prevented any substantive discussion of its goals.

The Party for Brotherly Love, Freedom and Diversity, known by its Dutch acronym PVND, said members voted yesterday to dissolve.