Dutch voter turnout estimated at 76.3 percent, a bit lower than 2023 Parliament election

Approximately 76.3 percent of registered voters cast a ballot in the 2025 Dutch General Election, according to research firm Ipsos I&O. The estimate based on exit poll data collected on Wednesday showed a decrease compared to the 77.7 percent who voted in 2023. About 78.7 percent of the electorate showed up during the 2021 elections.

The poll suggests more than 10.23 million people were involved in the elections for the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch Parliament. Voters were welcome in a handful of polling places during the early morning hours, with most locations open by 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday. The polls closed across the country at 9 p.m.

The City of Amsterdam reported that 70.8 percent of voters showed up at the polls, down slightly from 71 percent in 2023. Despite higher-than-expected turnout at various points on Wednesday, only 63.3 percent of voters in Rotterdam cast a ballot. That was even lower then the 64.4 percent in the last election, when residents of the second-largest city said they were uninterested and largely detached from politics.

About 69.4 percent of voters in The Hague showed up, slightly higher than two years earlier. At the same time, Utrecht residents showed up in large numbers. About 81.1 percent of eligible voters cast a ballot there, against 79.9 percent in 2023. About 72.6 percent of Eindhoven voters showed up, just a bit more than the 72.4 percent that voted two years ago. In Groningen, the city estimated that turnout topped the previous rate of 80.3 percent.

Only a handful of problems were reported, such as a locked gate that delayed initial voting at a community center in Zaandam by 40 minutes. A smoldering halogen lamp also forced the evacuation and early closure of a church in Huizen.

Meanwhile, periods of rain, and some difficult spots of rush hour traffic may have also prevented some people from voting. Many people were also forced to sit in their vehicles at a standstill on the A2 after police said the driver of a stolen vehicle crashed into two police motorcycles and two squad cars, injuring several officers.

Since 1848, the highest level of turnout ever recorded in a Tweede Kamer election was in 1959. That year, 95.61 percent of voters cast a ballot. Turnout was frequently high both before and after World War II. But turnout was just 21.36 percent in 1917, while the Netherlands maintained a position of neutrality during World War I.