Recount in Tilburg leads to no change in election results

The recount of votes cast at four polling stations in Tilburg during the parliamentary elections will most likely not lead to an adjustment of the election results. This is what a spokeswoman for the municipality of Tilburg told ANP when asked. Around 40 people were on duty on Saturday afternoon and finished their work shortly before 6 pm. Initially, the recount, being carried out under the watchful eye of a delegation from the Tweede Kamer, was expected to last until 3 p.m.

The Tweede Kamer decided on the recount on Saturday morning because the Commission for the Verification of Credentials, which verifies the election results, "found an inexplicable counting discrepancy of more than 15 votes in four polling stations in the Brabant city".

According to Mayor Theo Weterings, almost all discrepancies in the count have now been resolved. In one polling station the result is correct, in two polling stations there is still an inexplicable difference of one vote and in the last polling station there are two such discrepancies. "These are mostly human errors in which fatigue most likely played a role," he said.

As an example, he cites the vote count for one candidate, which was corrected by 20 after the correction. "One person at the polling station called out 22 during the count and the other wrote down 2. Yes, then you get these kinds of discrepancies." Weterings called it "good for the democratic process" that the votes have now been recounted, NOS reported. Also VVD MP Ulysse Ellian, chairman of the committee, believes that the recount is important for the "reliability and verifiability" of the elections.

The total counting difference was 75, the Commission for the Verification of Credentials reported. Thanks to the recount, the counting difference has been reduced to 4. The committee will report to the Tweede Kamer on Tuesday.

Although this is unlikely to change the distribution of seats, the official election result will be slightly corrected by the Electoral Council. It will hold a public meeting in the Tweede Kamer on Monday at 2 p.m. to draw up a new official protocol of the results.