At Stake in this Election: 

• All 150 seats of the Dutch Second Chamber 

Government Structure:  

• Chief of State: King WILLEM-ALEXANDER (since 30 April 2013) 

• Head of Government: Prime Minister Mark RUTTE (since 14 October 2010) 

• Assembly: bicameral States General (Staten Generaal) with a 75-seat First Chamber (Eerste Kamer) and a 150-seat Second Chamber (Tweede Kamer) 

Electoral System:  

• The King is a hereditary monarch. 

• The monarch typically appoints the Second Chamber majority leader to be Prime Minister. 

• In the First Chamber, all 75 members are indirectly elected by the Provincial Council via proportional representation votes. Members serve 4-year terms. 

• In the Second Chamber, all 150 members are directly elected by open-list proportional representation vote from 20 multi-seat constituencies. Members serve 4-year terms. 

Last Election: 

In 2021, the VVD won the largest share of seats in the Lower Chamber (34) but did not secure a majority. 14 additional parties also won seats, and voter turnout was 79%. 

New/Unique in this Election:  

A snap election was triggered when the governing coalition dissolved due to disagreements over immigration policy. Longtime Prime Minister Mark RUTTE will not stand for reelection. 

Key Deadlines: 

• Candidate filing deadline: 9 October 2023 

• Political parties must register by 28 August 2023. 

• Voter registration deadline: N/A; Voter registration is passive in the Netherlands. 

• The voter roll is finalized on 10 October 2023. 

Main Candidates in this Election: 

• People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy / Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie (VVD) 

• Leader: Dilan YEŞILGÖZ-ZEGERIUS 

• Seats won in last election: 34 out of 150 

• Democrats 66 / Democraten 66 (D66) 

• Leader: Rob JETTEN 

• Seats won in last election: 24 out of 150 

• Party for Freedom / Partij voor de Vrijheid (PVV) 

• Leader: Geert WILDERS 

• Seats won in last election: 17 out of 150 

• GreenLeft – Labor Party / GROENLINKS - Partij van de Arbeid (PvdA) 

• Leader: Jesse KLAVER and Attje KUIKEN 

• Seats won in last election: 17 out of 150 

• Coalition 

• Christian Democratic Appeal / Christen-Democratisch Appèl (CDA) 

• Leader: Henri BONTENBAL 

• Seats won in last election: 15 out of 150 

• Socialist Party / Socialistische Partij (SP) 

• Leader: Lilian MARIJNISSEN 

• Seats won in last election: 9 out of 150 

• Forum for Democracy / Forum voor Democratie (FVD) 

• Leader: Thierry BAUDET 

• Seats won in last election: 8 out of 150 

• Animal Party / Partij voor de Dieren 

• Leader: Esther OUWEHAND 

• Seats won in last election: 6 out of 150 

• ChristianUnion / ChristenUnie 

• Leader: Mirjam BIKKER 

• Seats won in last election: 5 out of 150 

• Volt 

• Leader: Laurens DASSEN 

• Seats won in last election: 3 out of 150 

• JA21 

• Leader: Joost EERDMANS 

• Seats won in last election: 3 out of 150 

• Reformed Political Party / Staatkundig Gereformeerde Partij (SGP) 

• Leader: Chris STOFFER 

• Seats won in last election: 3 out of 150 

• DENK 

• Leader: Stephan VAN BAARLE 

• Seats won in last election: 3 out of 150 

• 50PLUS 

• Leader: Gerard VAN HOOFT 

• Seats won in last election: 1 out of 150 

Population and Registered Voters: 

• Population: 17,703,090 (2022 est.) 

• Registered Voters: 13,293,186 (2021) 

Gender Data: 

• Female Population: 8,904,230 (2022 est.) 

• CEDAW Status: Signed 17 July 1980, Ratified 23 July 1991 

• Gender Quota: No, only voluntary party quotas 

• Female Candidates in this election: Yes 

• Number of Female Legislators (pre-election): 28 out of 75 (37.3%) in the First Chamber and 61 out of 150 (40.7%) in the Second Chamber 

• Human Development Index (HDI) Position: 0.941, Very High, Rank 10 (2021) 

• Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: 9.5 (2023)  

Disability Data: 

• CRPD Status: Signed 30 March 2007, Ratified 14 June 2016 

• Projected population with a disability: 2,832,494 (2022 est.)  

IFES Resources: 

• Does IFES have a presence in the Netherlands: No 

• Election Access: Yes 

• Election Judgements: Yes, 5 judgments and 13 resources