Record number of Dutch municipalities still not done with local government formation
Sixteen Dutch municipalities have not yet completed the formation of their executive boards more than 150 days after the March 18 council elections. According to Binnenlands Bestuur, this is pushing the national average formation time toward 90 days.
As of July 22, the political factions and municipal councils in Achtkarspelen, Ameland, Bergen (NH), Best, De Bilt, Edam-Volendam, Hollands Kroon, Leiden, Leidschendam-Voorburg, Papendrecht, Schiermonnikoog, Sluis, Tiel, Tytsjerksteradiel, Velsen, and Zutphen still await the appointment of new aldermen. In many of these places, the new coalition agreement or council program also still needs to be finalized.
It remains unclear whether the slowest-formation record of 229 days, set by Vlieland in 2022, will be broken. In Achtkarspelen, Bergen (NH), Schiermonnikoog, Sluis, and Tytsjerksteradiel, only the formal appointment of aldermen is still required.
In Hollands Kroon the coalition parties say they have reached agreement and know who the aldermen will be. Best and Velsen already have a council program and are using the summer to identify aldermen who can be appointed in early September.
The duration remains uncertain in Ameland, De Bilt, Edam-Volendam, Leidschendam-Voorburg, Papendrecht, and Tiel, where difficult political relations and major differences of opinion reportedly persist.
Leiden is the only large city still in the process. Its formation collapsed last month because of a lack of trust between PRO and D66. Five parties led by PRO are now working to form a narrow majority coalition and reportedly aim to finish as quickly as possible.
Four years earlier, only five municipalities completed formation after the summer. Several factors reportedly explain this year's longer timelines. Formation is no longer typically handled by a few political heavyweights in local back rooms. In 2026 it has become standard to hold an interpretation debate, appoint an explorer and an informateur, and allow time and space for input on both the process and the draft results, Binnenlands Bestuur reports.
The political landscape in councils has grown more complex with the increase in the number of factions; a majority coalition often now requires four or more parties.
The recent elections also reportedly produced a substantial rise in the share of (extreme) right-wing parties in municipal councils, requiring longer negotiations to assemble a stable majority or draft a council program. Additional time is needed to screen the background and identity of alderman candidates.
Of the 324 municipalities that have completed formation, 182 required more time than in 2022, ranging from one extra day to 63 additional days.
Sluis and Schiermonnikoog, which will appoint new aldermen only after the summer, needed more than 100 extra days compared with four years earlier.
At the same time, 115 municipalities finished faster than in 2022. Among them is The Hague, which in 2022 did not complete its formation until late September. However, this year it appointed a new executive board led by Richard de Mos from Hart voor Den Haag before the summer.
