Polling stations across the Netherlands are now open for Wednesday’s local elections, in which some 62,000 people are competing for around 8,500 seats on 340 of the Netherlands’ 342 local councils.
In some places, voting began at midnight, including at railway stations, in a snack bar in Kampen and in The Hague, where there was a party on the Grote Markt.
In Amsterdam, 35 parties are competing for one of the 45 seats on the city council, while in three areas — Hilvarenbeek, Rozendaal and the Wadden Sea island of Schiermonnikoog — just three parties are taking part.
- What you need to know about the local elections on March 18
- A quick guide to the biggest political parties
- Check out the Dutch News city guides
- Why you should vote
The results are being seen by some commentators as an early guide to support for the new minority coalition government, although turnover is always much lower than at a national election and the far right parties are not standing in all council areas.
Jan and Karin lead the list of popular candidate names
Jan is the most common name on the multitude of candidate lists, news website Nu.nl said. In total, 1,344 Jans are standing for election. Peter, with 866 is in second place, followed by Hans on 786.
When it comes to popular women’s names, there are 177 Karins on the lists, followed by 176 Moniques and 51 Petras.
Several candidates have also died since their names were included ahead of the February 6 deadline, Nu.nl said.
D66 spends most on advertising
D66 has topped the list in terms of spending on advertising, having shelled out over €1.3 million on attracting votes, according to research by website politiekereclame.nl.
Parties are now required by law to make their advertising budgets public. Next on the list come the Amsterdam branches of the VVD, PvdA, GroenLinks and CDA. Hart voor Den Haag and Leefbaar Rotterdam – both populist local parties – have also spent around €100,000 on advertising, the Volkskrant reported.
