Description of Electoral System

(courtesy of IFES election guide)

The monarchy is hereditary. In the First Chamber (Eerste Kamer) 75 members are elected to serve 4-year terms. In the Second Chamber (Tweede Kamer) 150 members are elected by direct popular vote to serve 4-year terms.

Electoral Systems Snapshot

(Courtesy of International IDEA)

*Click on links for definitions

WANT MORE ELECTION RELATED STATS FOR THE NETHERLANDS? Go to "election databases" on the left-hand menu of this page OR comparative data on the right-hand menu and choose your area of interest.

Most Recent Election

(courtesy of wikipedia)

2009 European Parliament Elections

The European Parliament elections of 2009 was the election of the delegation from the Netherlands to the European Parliament and took place on June 4. Seventeen parties contended for 25 seats, reduced from 27 since the last European Parliament election in 2004. For the first time, Dutch residents of the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba were also entitled to vote. This increased the people that were allowed to vote by 210 000. The turnout of registered voters on Netherlands Antilles and Aruba was 77 percent. The new right for these areas to partake in the vote, does not change the position of the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba, they are not part of the European Union and they do not need to adopt European law.

Turnout in the Netherlands itself was lower at 36.9 percent, which was lower than in the 2004 EP elections (39.26 percent). The Christian-democratic party CDA (Christen-Democratisch Appèl) managed to stay the biggest party in the Netherlands with five seats, despite losing two since the last election. The biggest winner of the election were the right-wing "Party for Freedom" (Partij voor de Vrijheid) that gained four seats, and also the progressive social-liberal party "Democrats 66" (Democraten 66) which gained two seats. The party that lost the most support in this election was the social democratic "Labour Party" (Partij van de Arbeid) losing more than half of their seats (four seats lost) in the European Parliament.

Past Elections

(Courtesy of Wikipedia)

2006 General Elections

The Dutch general elections 2006 were held in the Netherlands on Wednesday, November 22, 2006, and followed the call for new elections after the fall of the Second Balkenende cabinet.

The elections proved relatively successful for the governing Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) which remained the largest party with 41 seats, a loss of only three seats. The largest increase in seats was for the Socialist Party (SP), which went from nine to 25 seats. The main opposition party, the social-democratic Labour Party (PvdA) lost nine of its 42 seats, while the right-liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and the progressive liberal Democrats 66 lost a considerable portion of their seats, six of 28 and three of six, respectively. New parties, such as the right-wing Party for Freedom (PVV) of former VVD MP Geert Wilders and the animal rights party Party for the Animals (PvdD) were also successful, with the PVV winning nine seats and the PvdD winning two, thereby becoming the first animal rights group to enter a European parliament.

The formation talks led to the installation of the Christian-social fourth cabinet Balkenende, composed of CDA, PvdA and ChristianUnion on February 22, 2007.

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