2026 Dutch municipal elections

2026 Dutch municipal elections
18 March 2026

Municipal elections were held on 18 March 2026 in 333 municipalities in the Netherlands. This election will determine the composition of the municipal councils for the following four years.[1]

No elections due to reorganization

In the following municipalities, no regular municipal council elections will be held on March 18, 2026 because they have recently been involved in a reorganization operation:[2]

  • Reorganization as of January 1, 2027

In the municipalities of Hilversum and Wijdemeren, redistricting elections will be held on 18 November 2026, if the parliamentary procedure regarding the merger bill is completed in time in 2026.[2][3]

No elections due to status as a public body

The public bodies of Bonaire, Saba, and Sint Eustatius (Caribbean Netherlands) have many tasks that are performed by municipalities in the rest of the Netherlands. However, the island council elections for these public bodies will take place simultaneously with the Provincial Council elections, which will be held for the first time in 2027.

Ballot paper size

During the 2026 municipal elections, at least eleven municipalities will be experimenting with a smaller ballot paper (A3 format). These are Alphen aan den Rijn, Boekel, Gouda, 's-Hertogenbosch, Leiden, Meierijstad, Midden-Delfland, Nijmegen, Noordoostpolder, Soest and Tynaarlo.[4]

The municipality of Borne previously participated in the experiment, but decided not to participate in these elections due to concerns about the number of invalid votes and the reduced recognizability of candidates.

Both the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations and the Electoral Council remain positive about the experiment, which should contribute to a simpler and faster voting and counting process.[5][6]

Timetable

Timetable[4]
Date Action
22 December 2025 Last day of registration of political party designations
2 February 2026 Nomination Day
18 March 2026 Voting Day
After voting day Announcement of the official result

National

Opinion polling

Polling firm Fieldwork date GL–PvdA VVD D66 CDA PvdD CU SP Denk FvD SGP PVV Volt Local parties
2026 election 18 Mar 2026 14.6 11.6 9.3 11.2 1.7 2.8 1.9 1.1 4.0 2.5 1.2 1.0 34.2
Ipsos I&O[7] 6–9 Mar 2026 17.3 11.4 8.7 8.6 3.0 3.0 2.0 2.0 3.8 1.0 1.0 1.0 34.5
2022 election 16 Mar 2022 17.8 11.8 8.8 8.4 3.3 3.2 3.0 2.4 1.8 1.6 0.9 0.6 31.2

Results

PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Local parties2,608,79234.223,391+199
GroenLinks–PvdA1,110,46714.571,059–138
People's Party for Freedom and Democracy885,85611.621,074+66
Christian Democratic Appeal854,15011.201,110–19
Democrats 66709,1059.30660+57
Forum for Democracy307,3834.03299+244
Christian Union211,5382.77211–91
Reformed Political Party186,8172.45256+28
Socialist Party146,8481.93103–65
Party for the Animals127,6681.6758–5
Party for Freedom92,4281.21101+42
Denk86,7091.1431+7
Volt Netherlands74,5710.9825+5
50PLUS64,2940.8439+18
Christian Union–SGP62,5060.8278–12
Farmer–Citizen Movement35,2770.4638New
JA2135,1790.4617+15
BIJ122,2950.294–2
New Social Contract1,7160.020New
Total7,623,599100.008,554+93
Source: NOS[8]

Amsterdam

Results

Opinion polling

Polling firm/Commissioner Fieldwork date Sample size PvdA GL D66 VVD BIJ1 PvdD Volt SP JA21 Denk CDA FvD PvdO
O&S/Het Parool & AT5[9] 9–12 Mar 2026 771 10 8 6 4 2 4 2 2 3 2 1 1 0
O&S/Het Parool & AT5[10] 27 Jan–9 Feb 2026 1,354 9 8 8 4 1 4 2 2 3 2 1 1 0
O&S/Het Parool & AT5[11] 4–12 Mar 2025 846 10 8 6 5 1 4 3 2 2 2 1 0 1
2022 election 16 Mar 2022 — 9 8 7 5 3 3 2 2 2 2 1 1 0

Rotterdam

Results

Opinion polling

Pollster Fieldwork date Party
LR GL/PvdA D66 DENK VVD FVD PvdD BIJ1 CDA 50PLUS SP Volt CU Other Lead
2022 result 16 Mar 2022 10 9 5 4 6 1 2 2 1 1 1 2 1 0 1
Peil.nl[12] 15 Mar 2026 10–11 8–9 6–7 3–4 3–4 2–3 1–2 1–2 1–2 1–2 1–2 1–2 0–1 0–1 2
Peil.nl[13] 22 Feb 2026 9–10 8–9 8–9 3–4 3–4 2–3 1–2 1–2 1–2 1–2 1–2 1–2 0–1 0–1 1
D66/ordered by D66[14] 15 Feb 2026 10 9 9 unclear 6 unclear unclear unclear 4 unclear unclear unclear unclear unclear 1
Ipsos I&O/ordered by GLPVDA[14] 15 Feb 2026 16% 21% 15% 10% 9% unclear 9% unclear unclear unclear unclear unclear unclear unclear 5%

Groningen

Results

Opinion polling

Polling firm/Commissioner Fieldwork date Sample size GL–PvdA D66 PvdD Stadsp. SP VVD S&S CU CDA PvhN PVV FvD Volt
OOG/Onderzoekdoen.nl[15] 3–9 Mar 2026 1,759 14 4 3 2 6 3 1 1 4 1 2 2 2
2022 election 16 Mar 2022 — 15[N 1] 5 4 4 4 3 3 2 2 2 1 0 —
  1. ^ As GroenLinks (9 seats) and PvdA (6 seats).

See also

References

  1. ^ "Nog geen nieuw stembiljet in 2026". Binnenlands Bestuur.
  2. ^ a b Wet algemene regels herindeling, artikel 56e.
  3. ^ Wetsvoorstel herindeling gemeenten Hilversum en Wijdemeren naar Tweede Kamer rijksoverheid.nl, 21 November 2025
  4. ^ a b "Elf gemeenten testen kleiner stembiljet tijdens gemeenteraadsverkiezingen". nos.nl. December 12, 2025.
  5. ^ 5 gemeenten stemmen met een kleiner en handzamer stembiljet tijdens de Europees Parlementsverkiezing, rijksoverheid.nl, 11 maart 2024
  6. ^ Nog geen nieuw stembiljet in 2026, Binnenlands Bestuur, 19 november 2024
  7. ^ "Gemeenteraadsverkiezingen: lokale partijen kunnen doorgroeien". Ipsos I&O. 11 March 2026.
  8. ^ "Uitslagen Gemeenteraad 2026".
  9. ^ [1] (in Dutch)
  10. ^ Peiling: PvdA, GroenLinks en D66 dicht bij elkaar (in Dutch)
  11. ^ Onderzoek Peiling: PvdA de grootste in Amsterdam (in Dutch)
  12. ^ "DPG Media Privacy Gate". myprivacy.dpgmedia.nl.
  13. ^ "DPG Media Privacy Gate". myprivacy.dpgmedia.nl.
  14. ^ a b "DPG Media Privacy Gate". myprivacy.dpgmedia.nl.
  15. ^ Grote verschuivingen in Groningse peiling: lokale partijen verliezen, nieuwkomers Volt en FvD winnen | OOG Panel (in Dutch)
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