Around 15% of local authority councillors have left office since the 2022 elections, often because they found the workload too heavy, according to figures from the Staat van het Bestuur project analysed by Nieuwsuur.

Another 12% stepped down after moving into other roles within their municipalities, Nieuwsuur said. The job of local councillor is a part time position.

Of the nearly 8,500 councillors elected in 2022, more than 1,250 have already quit local politics, while about 1,000 others have become aldermen or mayors. Most departures occurred around the halfway point of the four-year term.

Almost half of those who left cited personal reasons, often linked to the difficulty of combining council work with a job or family life. Others mentioned health issues, loss of motivation or other personal circumstances.

Abdullah Uysal, chairman of the local councillors’ association described the figures as “very worrying”. The fact that so many councillors cannot balance their duties with other commitments “goes against the essence of the role,” he said.

“It is meant to be a secondary position, keeping councillors closely connected to society,” he said. “If that no longer works, it damages local democracy.”

Intimidation also plays a role in some resignations, even though councillors did not mention it explicitly in the research, he said. “Aggression has increased over the past two years, especially in debates about asylum centres,” he said.

Because this is the first time the figures have been examined in detail, there is no clear comparison with previous terms. What is certain is that councillors are less experienced on average than before: in 2018 about 40% had served more than one term, compared with 30% in 2022, Nieuwsuur said.

According to the local councillors’ association, students and pensioners now make up a growing share of council members. “People with full-time jobs or families are dropping out, and that’s regrettable,” Uysal said. “Local government should reflect society as broadly as possible.”

The home affairs ministry said it is investing an extra €1 million a year in training and supporting local politicians, and is looking at the option of larger councils to spread the workload more evenly.

The study also found that female councillors leave more often than men, and members of national parties are slightly more likely to quit than those from local groups.

The next local council elections take place on March 18.