Dittrich, who had been the leader of the party since the resignation of Thom de Graaf on 22 January 2003, did not stand for the leadership election.

Alexander Pechtold won the election, beating Lousewies van der Laan and six others.

The lijsttrekker election had been advanced to an earlier date under pressure of the party's largest regional sections.

He came under heavy criticism after the political debate on sending Dutch troops to Uruzgan.

He was criticized for making tactical errors to get political support for the mission, which D66 itself opposed.