Election Planning

Right to vote

In order to vote, a person must:

• have either the Dutch nationality or the nationality of a European Union member state,
• be 18 years or older, and
• not be otherwise disqualified from voting.

Additionally, nationals of other member states of the European Union must:

• be resident in the Netherlands on the day the candidates are nominated,
• not be disqualified from voting either in the Netherlands or in the Member State in which they are a national, and
• have registered in a municipality declaring that they want to vote in the Netherlands instead of in the home country (by filling out the Y-32 form).

Dutch nationals abroad, as well as in Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten have to register to vote for the elections to the European Parliament. When they register, they must say whether they will vote by post, by proxy, or in person at a polling station in the Netherlands.

Dutch nationals living in another EU member state must make a statement that they have not voted in the member state in which they reside, if they want to vote in the Netherlands.

Dutch residents on Bonaire, St. Eustatius, and Saba have no need to register, because these islands are part of the Netherlands. They are able to vote in person at polling stations on the islands.

Right to stand as a candidate

In order to stand in the European Parliament election, a candidate must:

• hold either Dutch nationality or the nationality of a Member State of the European Union,
• be at least 18 years of age on the day they would be sworn into the European Parliament, and
• have the right to vote.

Additionally, candidates from other member states of the European Union must:

• be resident in the Netherlands, and
• be able to stand as a candidate in the member state of which they are a national.

Organisation of elections

In elections for the European Parliament, the national electoral districts play no role in the nomination. The Netherlands consists of a single electoral district. Political parties, therefore, take part in the elections with only a single candidate list.

However, the national electoral districts do play an important role in processing the election results. The principal polling station of each constituency determines the vote total of the constituency. The results of the vote are recorded in an official document and transferred to the Electoral Council. The Electoral Council, in its role as the central electoral committee, then determines the result of the Netherlands' distribution of seats.

Casting a vote

A voter could cast their vote at a polling station of their choice within their own district. At the casting their vote, they could identify themselves with an identity document which is considered valid even if it has expired within the last five years.

Participation of political groups

Numbering of the candidates list

The parties which had obtained one or more seats in 2014 at the last election to the European Parliament were given a number based on the number of votes they had received in the previous election. These totalled nine candidate lists. The party with the most votes got number 1 and the rest were listed accordingly. The list numbers for the remaining candidate lists were decided by a lottery.

The official order and names of candidate lists:

Common lists

Parties can form common lists, which means that two or more parties create a single list and stand in the elections as though they were one party. There are two for this election:

Election day

Traditionally, all elections are held on Wednesday in the Netherlands. However, the European Parliament elections run from Thursday to Sunday across the entire European Union so Thursday was chosen. This is because it is the only day that the Dutch Government believes is appropriate for an election day due to it not being a rest day for any religion. Sunday is not an option because it is a rest day for Christians, while it is the Sabbath on Friday and Saturday.^[2][3]

Seats

Vote share

Electoral quota

The electoral quota is the number of votes needed for one seat. It is the total valid number of votes divided by the number of seats. For this election it was 5,497,813 valid votes, divided by 26 seats. The electoral quota was established as 211,454.

Assigning full seats

Full seats are assigned by number of votes divided by the electoral quota. Electoral alliances are marked as a letter, instead of a number. Any seats left over are not yet assigned to a specific party.

Remainder seats

The remaining, or left over, seats are awarded sequentially to the lists with the highest average number of votes per seat. Only lists that reached the electoral quota are eligible.

• P.v.d.A./European Social Democrats is awarded 2 seats
• VVD is awarded 1 seat
• Forum for Democracy is awarded 1 seat
• GreenLeft is awarded 1 seat
• Democrats 66 (D66) - ALDE is awarded 1 seat
• Christian Union-SGP is awarded 1 seat
• CDA - European People's Party is awarded 1 seat

2019

• 23 May: Election for the European Parliament in the Netherlands.
• 6 June: Forum for Democracy joins the ECR Group.^[23]
• 11 June: The election committee elecs Rob Rooken for the empty seat of Thierry Baudet in the European Parliament, because Thierry Baudet did not accept the seat. He has 28 days to accept or reject.^[24]
• 12 June: Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe group (ALDE group) becomes Renew Europe.^[25]
• 12 June: Europe of Nations and Freedom (ENF Group) becomes Identity and Democracy.^[26]
• 19 June: The Christen Union leaves the ECR group and wants to join the EPP group.^[27]
• 19 June: 50PLUS joins the EPP group.^[28]
• 2 July: Beginning of the 9th European Parliament session (2019–2024).
• 2 July: Frans Timmermans from the Labour Party did not accept his seat.^[29]
• 8 July: The election committee elecs Lara Wolters for the empty seat of Frans Timmermans in the European Parliament, because Frans Timmermans did not accept the seat. She has 28 days to accept or reject.^[30]
• 9 July: Lara Wolters is installed in the European Parliament as a replacement for Frans Timmermans of the Labour Party.^[31]