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Trusted news agencies tracing tendencies of democratisation and autocratisation globally
Trusted news agencies tracing tendencies of democratisation and autocratisation globally
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About six months ago, the Dutch held a general election; now it was the turn of the local councils. In the end, parties from the centre-left came out on top, but far-right parties made significant gains. And in Rotterdam, the mayor now faces a spectacular challenge.
Amsterdam (dpa) - The Labour-Green Left alliance (PvdA) has emerged as the strongest force in local elections in the Netherlands, securing just over 14% of the vote. The left-wing coalition is set to win in the major cities of Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Utrecht, despite suffering slight losses overall.
At the same time far-right parties made significant gains, as provisional results have shown. The far-right Forum for Democracy, which stood in fewer than a third of local councils, recorded notable gains in almost every area it contested. Many established parties had previously ruled out cooperation with the party.
In The Hague, the right-wing populist party Heart for The Hague emerged as the strongest force, while Geert Wilders' populist party PVV also increased its share of seats.
The results echo trends from the parliamentary election in October 2025, when the centrist but socially liberal D66 party won narrowly, while almost a third of seats went to far-right or right-wing populist parties. Preliminary figures show that the governing coalition parties in The Hague held their ground, while most local council seats were won by local parties.
Voter turnout was just under 54%, slightly higher than four years ago. Rotterdam Mayor Carola Schouten is therefore now obliged to fulfil her pledge to abseil down the city's 185-metre-high Euromast television tower, having promised to do so if turnout increased from the last elections.