Turnout so far in the provincial elections is said to be similar to four years ago, when just 48% of the electorate had their say, officials said at 15.30.

In total some 13 million people are eligible to vote in today’s election for 12 provincial councils and 21 water boards, around half of whom are expected to vote ahead of the 9pm closure.

There are some 10,000 polling stations nationwide, ranging from museums and railway stations to private homes and the senate.

Flinke aanloop bij stemlokaal #EersteKamer voor #PS2019 #WS2019 op het #Binnenhof. In de eerste uren zijn er al ruim 300 mensen geweest om te stemmen! En EK-voorzitter Ankie Broekers-Knol deelt vanmorgen als lid van het stembureau de stembiljetten uit. @2eKamertweets @ProDemos pic.twitter.com/jK3cqOfBKS

— Eerste Kamer (@EersteKamer) March 20, 2019

The 570 members of the 12 provincial councils will go on to elect the 75 members of the senate in May, and all the polls show the cabinet will lose its majority in the upper house of parliament. In particular, the right-wing nationalists of Forum voor Democratie set to make major gains.

It is as yet unclear if Monday’s shooting in Utrecht is having an impact on voting intentions, despite efforts by far right parties to capitalize on the event, which left three people dead. Police say they have good reason to believe the attack was terrorism-related but the investigation is still ongoing.

Turnout in Utrecht is said by the Telegraaf to be higher than elsewhere.

Opkomst in provincie Utrecht tot nu toe het hoogst https://t.co/Ozn3ecWVRb via @telegraaf

— Gabriele van Doorn (@Resoundeffects) March 20, 2019

Broadcaster NOS is claiming a first during the elections by using so-called robot journalism to produce individual reports from all 355 Dutch local authority areas, based on the actual results.

DutchNews.nl will publish a report on the results later on Wednesday evening, with detailed coverage on Thursday morning. Keep an eye on our Facebook page and Twitter feed for breaking news.