Haaksbergen to vote on asylum seeker housing ahead of elections

Residents of Haaksbergen in Overijssel will vote next month in an advisory referendum on the conditions for housing asylum seekers, coinciding with the municipal elections.

The referendum asks whether the municipality should concentrate asylum seekers at a single location or distribute them across multiple sites, and whether a center should be placed on land planned for future residential development.

The referendum does not address whether asylum seeker housing should exist at all. Under Dutch law, Haaksbergen is required to accommodate 129 asylum seekers, including 18 unaccompanied minors.

The municipal council is not obliged to adopt the referendum results, as the vote is consultative.