Over 14.2 million people eligible to vote in city council elections next week

More than 14.2 million people in the Netherlands are eligible to vote in next Wednesday’s municipal elections, CBS reported based on preliminary figures.

To vote, residents must be registered in a Dutch municipality, at least 18 years old, hold citizenship of an EU country, or have lived in the Netherlands for at least five years. Roughly 80 percent of the Dutch population meets these criteria for the March 18 elections.

About 820,000 young people will be voting in municipal elections for the first time, as they were either under 18 or not living in the Netherlands four years ago. Among them, an estimated 70,000 with Dutch nationality were also not eligible to vote in the last national parliamentary elections.

The proportion of residents eligible to vote varies between municipalities. On Schiermonnikoog, a small island municipality in the northern Netherlands, nearly 93 percent of inhabitants meet the voting requirements. In contrast, in Urk, the share is lower at roughly 68 percent, largely because the community has a relatively high number of young residents who are not yet eligible to vote.

Due to a municipal reorganization, residents of Hilversum and Wijdemeren will not vote for the municipal council until the fall.