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The Dutch parliamentary elections – 29 October 2025
Image from Edwin van Eis

The Dutch parliamentary elections – 29 October 2025

Published on 14 October 2025 at 11:58
The 2025 Dutch parliamentary elections (Tweede Kamerverkiezingen) will take place on 29 October 2025. Find out more about the elections, who is eligible to vote and which parties are standing.

New parliamentary elections

On 29 October 2025, 12 million people in the Netherlands will be able to cast their vote in the parliamentary elections (Tweede Kamerverkiezingen). It is the third election in five years, held because the previous government collapsed in June.

The parliamentary elections (or general election) in the Netherlands take place at least every four years and determine who sits in the Dutch House of Representatives (Tweede Kamer). This is the main legislative body in the country; it has 150 seats. Members of the House of Representatives are directly elected and various political parties compete for the seats.

Who can vote

To vote in the Dutch parliamentary elections, you must:

  • be a Dutch citizen (i.e. have Dutch nationality)
  • be 18 years or older on election day
  • be registered as a resident in a Dutch municipality
  • not be excluded from voting rights.

If you meet these criteria, you will automatically receive a poll card (stempas, ‘voting pass’) in the post before the elections.

Who is standing

In total, 27 parties are standing in the elections. These include all parties and alliances who have seats in the current parliament. Among the parties are: the far-right and anti-immigration PVV, the alliance between the left-leaning and green GroenLinks party and the PvdA (Labour Party), the VVD (liberal), the NSC (centrist), the D66 (liberal democrats), the BBB (right-leaning and pro-farmers), the CDA (Christian democrats) and the SP (Socialist Party).

Political parties and coalitions

The Netherlands operates a system of proportional representation. This means that the number of votes a party receives is proportional to the number of seats it wins. There has never been a majority government in the Netherlands under this system, so after the elections, the parties who have won seats negotiate to form a coalition government. In a system of proportionate representation, even small parties can play a significant role in coalition negotiations.

Campaigning and debates

On 3 October, the current parliament entered a month-long recess in the run-up to the elections. There will be several debates on radio and TV as part of the election campaigns, including a debate on Radio 1 featuring all parties currently in parliament (10 October), and a televised debate on RTL between the PVV, GroenLinks-PvdA, VVD and CDA (12 October).

Help and information about goals and manifestos

There are a number of online tools and guides that provide an overview of the parties and their goals and manifestos. These tools can help voters to decide how to cast their vote. They usually ask a series of questions about current affairs and more general issues and then suggest parties that might align with these views. These tools are only available in Dutch, but you can use various browsers or platforms that offer English translations or summaries. The guides include:

  • Stemwijzer – This tool works with 30 statements that have been presented to the participating parties.
  • Kieskompas – This tool uses the parties’ manifestos and compares them with the user’s opinions on a range of issues.
  • Stemchecker – This tool, made by the Volkskrant newspaper, compares the user’s stance on various issues with the parties’ voting record on these issues in the House of Representatives.

Election day: where to go and what to bring

You can vote at any polling station in your municipality – check your municipality’s website for polling stations or visit this list and map of all polling stations in the country.

You will need to bring:

  • Your poll card (stempas, ‘voting pass’), which you will have received by post before the elections
  • A valid form of identification. The following are considered valid proof of identity: all passports, identity cards and driving licences from the Netherlands or other EU countries and from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway; a passport or identity card from Switzerland or a document proving your residence permit issued by the Netherlands. You can bring expired documents, but the expiry date must be less than five years ago.