A third of cities has a new biggest political party; Volt, FvD debut in many councils
In a third of the municipalities whose election results are known, a different party is now the largest party. This most often happened with the CDA losing the biggest party position to a local party, according to ANP's Election Service. Volt, Forum voor Democratie, and party for the animals PvdD did well in the municipal elections, debuting in many city councils.
The CDA is the largest party in 37 municipalities where the results are known. The Christian Democrat party remained the largest in 31 municipalities but lost that position in 36 municipal councils. In six municipalities, the CDA took the top spot from another party.
Local parties came out the biggest in at least 225 municipalities. Of them, 132 already held the most seats in the council, and 93 regional parties took over this position from another party - sometimes from another local party. Local parties lost the top position in 38 municipalities.
Newcomer Volt did pretty well in the elections. As the results now stand, the party holds seats in Utrecht (3), Eindhoven (2), Amsterdam (2), Zwolle (1), Maastricht (2), Den Bosch (1), and Rotterdam (1).
Volt leader Laurens Dassen called it "fantastic that Volt is breaking through locally" and is now represented locally, nationally, and in Europe. He said he is proud of how the local teams led their campaigns. "We now have seats in various cities. And we will work very hard for that over the next four years."
PvdD debuted in Eindhoven (2), Zwolle (2), Maastricht (2), Den Bosch (1), Haarlem (2), and Tilburg (2). Far-right FvD entered the city councils of Leeuwarden (1), Tilburg (1), Haarlem (1), Rotterdam (1), Maastricht (1), and Eindhoven (1). The party lost two seats in the Amsterdam city council and has one left.
Reporting by ANP and NL Times