Jan again the most common name on municipal ballots; Only one woman's name in top 50

The name Jan is once again the most common on the candidate lists for the upcoming municipal elections, according to an analysis by ANP based on data from the Electoral Council. The top 50 are almost all men’s names. Karin is the first woman’s name in 50th place.

With 1,344 appearances, Jan appears less frequently than in the 2022 and 2018 municipal elections, when the count was 1,377 and 1,564, respectively. Peter comes in second with 866 appearances. This was also the case in 2022, when 773 Peters were running for a spot on the municipal council. In third place is Hans (786), the same spot as in 2022 (751) and 2018 (803).

Karin is the most common female name with 177 occurrences and ranks 50th. Karin was also the most common woman’s name in 2022 and 2018, at positions 55 and 53, respectively. Monique is next in line with 176 occurrences at position 51, followed by Petera (161) in 63rd place. In 2022, the female name Monique was the most common after Karin, followed by Ria. In 2018, Marianne and Joke were the second and third most common female names.

Interest in city council seats is growing. Nearly 62,000 candidates will compete for over 8,500 seats in the municipal elections on March 18. An average of 7.2 people are running for each seat. In the previous municipal elections in 2022, this figure was 6.7 and 6.5 in 2018.

The number of council candidates has increased by over 12 percent since the last municipal elections. Before that, the number remained relatively stable. In 2018, almost 54,000 candidates participated; in 2022, this rose slightly to around 55,000 eligible candidates.

The number of seats per municipality is determined by the number of inhabitants, with a maximum of 45 seats. As in 2022, eight municipalities have the maximum number of seats. Of these eight, Almere has the lowest interest in a city council seat, with 6.8 candidates per seat.

In the municipalities of Druten and Amsterdam, candidates must defeat the most rivals for a council seat. There, approximately 14 candidates are eligible for each seat. Relatively high numbers of people are also running for council seats in Maastricht, 's-Hertogenbosch, Someren, Rotterdam, and Laarbeek.

Interest in council seats is relatively the lowest in the Drenthe municipality of Coevorden and the Wadden Island of Schiermonnikoog, where 2.8 people are running per seat. Tubbergen, Vleiland, and Reusel-De Mierden follow.

In two municipalities, Hilversum and Wijdemeren, no municipal elections will be held this year due to municipal reorganization.