Local Elections 2010

Elections will take place in most of the country's 431 local government areas on March 3, 2010.

In this section you will find an explanation of the voting system, useful links and the main news relating to the local campaigns.

Election news

Last minute plans as campaign nears end
02-03-2010 - A flurry of last-minute appeals to voters and calls for less bureaucracy marked the second-last day of campaigning ahead of Wednesday's local elections....more

Wilders again under fire in tv election debate
02-03-2010 - Geert Wilders' anti-Islam party PVV again came under fire from other party leaders in Monday night's final televised debate ahead of Wednesday's local elections....more

Rotterdam party wants ban on hissing
26-02-2010 - Leefbaar Rotterdam, the political party founded by Pim Fortuyn before he entered national politics and was murdered, has made a ban on hissing and whistling at women part of its local election campaign....more

Geert Wilders' PVV set to win in Almere
24-02-2010 - Geert Wilders' anti-immigration party PVV is leading the polls in the new town of Almere, one of two places it is contesting the local elections, according to a TNS Nipo poll for Wednesday's Volkskrant. ...more

Expat voters in demand
24-02-2010 - Just one week before voters head to polling stations around the country for the local elections, politicians from the main parties are busy vying for the expat vote....more

Election debate, The Hague
23-02-2010 - February 24 in the Town Hall at 8.30pm, representatives of all the main parties in a debate in English. Hosted by The Hague Online.

Local election turnout forecast at 49%
17-02-2010 - Only 49% of the electorate are planning to vote in the March 3 local elections, according to research by TNS Nipo. ...more

Election event: radio debate at Bright City
17-02-2010 - The Grand Cafe of Amsterdam Bright City will host a live radio debate featuring six city politicians on Friday February 26. Organised by English Breakfast Radio.

Election event: Boom Chicago's Political Party
17-02-2010 - Boom Chicago's Political Party in Amsterdam focuses on expat issues on February 21 and sees Greg Shapiro, Pep Rosenfeld and Maurice de Hond take on Labour campaign leader Lodewijk Asscher on February 22.

PVV catches up with Labour in the Hague
16-02-2010 - Geert Wilders' anti-Islam party is on to take seven seats on the Hague city council, according to a new poll by TNS Nipo....more

Election debate highlights left right divide
16-02-2010 - The first televised debate of the local election campaign highlighted the differences between left and right on taxes and government cut backs. ...more

Wilders' freedom clones spring up
12-02-2010 - Geert Wilders' anti-Islam party Partij voor de Vrijheid has spawned a number of local clones in the local elections, the AD reports....more

Muslim parties hope to win votes
05-02-2010 - Several Muslim parties will participate in Dutch municipal elections on March 3. But in spite of a sizable Muslim electorate, they have so far been unable to garner many votes. ...more
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Only 25% are aware of local elections
05-02-2010 - Just 25% of the population is aware local elections will take place on March 3, according to a new poll by the political barometer organisation....more

Wilders ducks out of radio election debate
05-02-2010 - PVV leader Geert Wilders has opted out of Sunday's traditional radio election debate with other party leaders, stating that public broadcaster Nos is 'useless' and has kept him dangling on a string for too long....more

Expats want more election information
04-02-2010 - Expats in the Hague are interested in voting in the March local elections but a majority would like more information about the main issues and political party programmes, according to a survey of 340 people by the Guest Card organisation. ...more

School playgrounds shut outside school hours
02-02-2010 - A magistrate in Alphen aan den Rijn has ruled that a local school playground must be closed to the public outside school hours because of the noise nuisance caused to local residents, local authority news website Binnenlands Bestuur reports. ...more

IJsselstein goes for language test
02-02-2010 - The Liberal party VVD has raised eyebrows in the town of IJsselstein near Utrecht for putting up election posters with the phrase In IJsselstein spreken we Nederlands (in IJsselstein we speak Dutch). ...more

Too cold to campaign, say Labour MPs
01-02-2010 - Junior home affairs minister Ank Bijleveld has rejected a call from two Labour MPs for the forthcoming local elections to be postponed because it is too cold....more

PVV plans: commandos and halal food bans
01-02-2010 - The anti-Islam party PVV presented its plans to win votes at the local election in Almere and the Hague on Friday, with a strong emphasis on law and order. ...more

Stop Wilders party can keep its name
15-01-2010 - The Hague's local election organisers must include the political party Stop Wilder Nu on the ballot paper for the March 3 local elections, the country's highest court, the Council of State, ruled on Friday....more

Verdonk's TON to compete in 38 local votes
11-01-2010 - Rita Verdonk's populist party Trots op Nederland (proud of the Netherlands) is to contest the March local elections in 38 places, the former immigration minister announced on Sunday....more

Wilders to close Hague councillor list
16-12-2009 - Geert Wilders, leader of the anti-Islam party PVV, is to take last place in the list of PVV candidates for the Hague local elections in March....more

Wilders uses MPs to head local election campaigns
21-11-2009 - A second MP for the anti-Islam party PVV is to head a local election campaign for the party, without giving up his seat in parliament....more

A quarter of local councillors quit early
06-11-2009 - A quarter of the local councillors who won a seat at the 2006 local election are no longer in the same job, according to local authority magazine Binnenlands Bestuur....more

Vote Muslim in Wilders home town
06-10-2009 - The Dutch Muslim Party (NMP) is to contest the local council elections in Venlo, the home town of anti-Islam PVV party leader Geert Wilders, reports the Telegraaf....more

Muslim party to participate in local elections
03-08-2009 - The Dutch Muslim party (NMP), set up two years ago, is to participate in next year's local council elections, reports the NRC on Monday....more