referendum

A narrow majority in the Eerste Kamer, the Dutch Senate, voted in favor of abolishing the advisory referendum. Dutch parliament previously approved this measure, also with a narrow majority, and with that the referendum is officially scrapped.

In addition to the 38 senators of the four coalition parties, opposition party SGP also voted for scrapping the referendum, bringing the total votes to 40 senators for, 35 against, RTL Nieuws reports.  

A majority in the Tweede Kamer is satisfied with the changes the government wants to make to the new law for the intelligence and security services. In addition to coalition parties VVD, CDA, D66 and ChristenUnie, opposition parties GroenLinks, PvdA and SGP also agree with the changes, was revealed in a parliamentary debate on the law on Tuesday, NOS reports.

The government's plans on how to change the new law for the Dutch intelligence services after a majority voted against it in a referendum, leaked on Thursday night. The changes are "mostly cosmetic" and don't do justice the results of the advisory referendum, according to privacy organization Bits of Freedom, NOS reports.

If only young Dutch people had voted in the municipal elections and referendum on the new Intelligence and Security Law on Wednesday, the D66 would be the largest national party of the Netherlands with 9 percent of the votes. And the no-camp would be the convincing winners of the referendum with 63 percent of the votes, according to an analysis by broadcaster NOS based on figures from Ipsos.

Human rights organization Amnesty International calls on the Dutch government to do justice to the millions of people who voted against a new law for the Dutch intelligence services in a referendum on Wednesday. The law should be changed on certain points to make certain it protects human rights, the Dutch branch of the organization said in a statement on Thursday.

With 80 percent of the votes in the referendum on whether or not to implement a new law for the Dutch intelligence and security services counted, opponents to the law are taking the lead. Of the counted votes, 49 percent were against the law, and 47 percent for. Around 4 percent of the votes were blank, the Volkskrant reports.

Around 53 percent of voters voted in the referendum, far above the 30 percent required for the referendum to be valid. 

A number of local and national politicians have been spotted casting their votes in the parliamentary elections on Wednesday.

Minister Kasja Ollongren of Home Affairs was the first politician spotted at a polling station. She cast her vote at Amsterdam Central Station at 6:30 a.m.

It's election day in the Netherlands. Today nearly 12.5 million Dutch can cast their vote in their municipal elections as well as in a referendum on whether or not to implement a new law for the Dutch intelligence services. Most polling stations open at 7:30 a.m. and will remain open until 9:00 p.m., according to NOS.

More Dutch plan to vote for a law that will give the Dutch intelligence services more capabilities to eavesdrop on people than plan to vote against. In every one of four recent polls, there are more "for" voters than "against" voters, NOS reports.

Paul Berben, candidate city councilor for party Veilig Maastricht, is furious at Minister Kasja Ollongren of Home Affairs because of the government's intention to abolish the advisory referendum. "My personal opinion: as far as I'm concerned she should hang on the highest tree", he wrote on Facebook. The Minister is still considering whether to take further steps against him, RTL Nieuws reports.

Socialist party SP kicked off their campaign for the municipal elections on Monday with party leader Lilian Marijnissen appearing as a hologram at gatherings in Haarlem, Breda, Nijmegen and Zwolle at the same time.