Amsterdammers massively vote against new data mining law

A large majority of Amsterdam residents voted against the new law for the Dutch intelligence services in a referendum held with the municipal elections on Wednesday. 54.7 percent of Amsterdam voters voted in the referendum. 64.2 percent voted against, and 30.9 percent voted for, NOS reports.

The national result of the referendum will only be announced next week, but it seems that the opponents won it. A large number of people also cast a blank vote, which is an invalid vote, but counts towards the turnout. Referendums need a turnout of at least 30 percent to be valid. This referendum exceeded that minimum by far.

According to figures from ANP, around 23,500 Dutch people abroad also voted in the referendum. Many Dutch embassy set up letter polling stations, where Dutch could cast their votes by letters.