Netherlands Holds Early Parliamentary Elections

Veneta Litkova, BTA special correspondent Iva Toncheva

Utrecht, the Netherlands,

29.10.2025 14:39

(BTA)

Early parliamentary elections began in the Netherlands on Wednesday for the House of Representatives (lower house), in which about 13.5 million Dutch citizens are eligible to vote. Polling stations across the country opened at 7:30 am local time and will remain open until 9:00 pm, and some opened earlier, local media reported. Voters in Zwolle, Arnhem and Castricum were able to cast their ballots just after midnight at a student cafe and a museum. Mobile polling stations also opened earlier at train stations, as millions of Dutch people commute to work by train every day.

At Utrecht Central Station, there were queues in front of polling stations, the BTA special correspondent saw. Traditionally, polling stations are set up in churches, mosques, museums, libraries, bars and cafes, and as of 2025 in a second-hand shop.

Voting is not done by machine but with a red pencil, a tradition of more than 100 years, to make it clearly visible what the voter has marked on the almost one-metre-long ballot papers. The polling booths are not covered by a curtain so that it is visible what the voter is doing, but not exactly how they are voting, the chairman of the polling station at St. Martin’s Cathedral in Utrecht said.

Even on election day, campaigning is allowed everywhere except at polling stations. In many busy areas of Utrecht, campaigners from different parties could be seen distributing leaflets and speaking with passers-by.

According to data released Tuesday night, between 35% and 39% of voters had not yet decided which party to support and were likely to do so at the last minute.

All polls point to a victory for the far-right Party for Freedom, but on the eve of the final debate, the latest surveys indicated that the Green Left-Labour Party alliance and D66 were catching up with, or even overtaking, Geert Wilders’ party.

The first exit poll results are expected after 9 pm local time.

/DS/