Millions of Dutch people will vote on Wednesday on the last day of the 2021 parliamentary elections. At 5.15 am, the first polling station was opened at Nijmegen Central Station. In total, the approximately 13.2 million voters can go to more than 8,800 voting locations. Most locations are open between 7:30 am and 9:00 pm.
As in the previous elections, polling stations are also opening at special locations this year. For example, people can go to the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and the Senate in The Hague. Traditionally, the smallest polling station opens in Marle, Overijssel, at 7.30 am. People can also go to about 40 NS stations.
Because of the corona virus, people have been able to vote at around 1,600 polling stations since Monday. That way, the government hoped to spread the expected crowds.
Special measures apply to all polling stations to minimize the risk of corona contamination. For example, pencils, voting booths, tables and other objects are regularly cleaned in the polling station. In some municipalities, all voters are given their own red pencil that they can take home afterwards.
The curfew between 9 p.m. and 4:30 a.m. will remain in effect on Wednesday. There is an exemption for people who have been to the polling station or who help with the elections.
Party leaders cast a vote
Most party leaders will vote on Wednesday morning. At 7.45 am, D66 leader Sigrid Kaag will be the first party to vote in The Hague. Outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte (VVD) does this at 9.30 am.
This year, 37 parties are participating in the elections, a post-war record. Only in 1922 did more parties participate: 53. Voters can choose from 1,579 candidates on Wednesday, a sharp increase compared to 2017, when 1,116 people were candidates.
All postal votes in Nijmegen were checked for validity on Tuesday. (Photo: ANP)
All postal votes in Nijmegen were checked for validity on Tuesday. (Photo: ANP) Photo: ANP
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Postal votes are counted
Due to the corona virus, people over 70 were allowed to vote by post this year. About 2.4 million voters were eligible. Postal votes of 15 and 16 March will be counted from Wednesday at 7.30 am. The counts take place in separate postal polling stations at one or more locations within municipalities.
Outgoing Minister Kajsa Ollongren (Internal Affairs) applied on Tuesday the procedure of postal votes, after several municipalities had found that there were many problems with postal votes. The Noord-Brabant municipality of Bernheze, among others, received envelopes containing both a voting pass and a ballot paper. As a result, about 8.5 percent of the submitted postal votes were invalid.
The envelopes may soon be opened at polling stations to check whether they contain a voting pass. If the voting pass is indeed included and is valid, the opened envelope may be placed in the ballot box without the polling station employee seeing the ballot paper.
Follow the latest developments on NU.nl all day long in our election live blog.
We are happy to help you make your choice.
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