At stake in this Referendum:

• New European Union Constitution

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: Queen BEATRIX
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Jan Peter BALKENENDE
• Assembly: Netherlands has a bicameral States General (Staten Generaal) consisting of the First Chamber (Eerste Kamer) with 75 seats and the Second Chamber (Tweede Kamer) with 150 seats.

Main provisions in the Referendum:

• Referendum to approve the new European Union Constitution. "Are you for or against approval by the Netherlands of the treaty establishing a constitution for Europe?"
  "Bent U voor of tegen instemming door Nederland met het verdrag tot vaststelling van een grondwet voor Europa?"

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 16,319,868 (2005)
• Registered Voters: 12,172,740 (2005)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 8,244,703 (2005)

·         Is Netherlands a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (17 July 1980)

·         Has Netherlands ratified CEDAW: Yes (23 July 1991)

·         Gender Quota: No

·         Female candidates in this election: N/A

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 51 (Second Chamber) following the 2002 elections; 20 (First Chamber) following the 1999 elections

·         Human Development Index Position: 5 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: N/A

Disability Data:

·         Is Netherlands a signatory to CRPD: Yes (30 March 2007)

·         Has Netherlands ratified CRPD: Yes (14 June 2016)

·         Population with a disability: 2,422,339 (est.)