31 parties approved to contest Dutch general election in March

Of the 81 parties which originally announced their intention to run in the March general election, 31 have met the conditions for inclusion on the ballot paper, the election council has confirmed.

New parties have to show they have support in all 20 voting districts to qualify and some have complained that local authorities have made it more difficult than necessary to collect the necessary paperwork.

Of the 31 parties which have been approved, 19 have been given until Friday to make sure they have gathered sufficient support. This includes two of the three right-wing populist parties led by supporters of last year’s referendum on Ukraine: Geen Peil and VNL.

The finalised list will be published on Friday.