The complete guide to the 2025 general elections in the Netherlands

The Dutch general elections are fast approaching. Dutch citizens will go to the polls in October 2025 to select a new government for the country. With a lot of hot debates ahead of the big day, here’s a guide on everything expats need to know about election day and what to expect once the results are announced. 

When is the Dutch general election?

A general election for the House of Representatives (Tweede Kamer) in the Netherlands will be held on Wednesday, October 29, 2025. The snap election was called after PVV pulled out of the coalition when the other parties refused to sign a 10-point plan for a stricter asylum policy, causing the collapse of the Schoof I cabinet. 

What are the big issues being discussed by political parties?

While the political parties all differ in their approaches, there are still some main issues being discussed. This election campaign has seen parties focus on the housing crisis, migration policy and healthcare costs. 

Housing

With month after month of rising housing prices and more than half of residents in the Netherlands experiencing housing stress due to the shortage of rental homes, it’s no surprise that the Dutch housing crisis is centre stage during the election campaign. The country is currently facing a shortage of around 400.000 homes and while the outgoing government has failed to reach building targets, top political parties are putting forward their plans to solve the shortage.

Several parties, including GroenLinks-PvdA, D66, Denk, Volt, PvdD and SP, have proposed phasing out the mortgage interest deduction to fund construction of new housing. The only difference is how quickly it will be phased out, from as soon as possible to up to 30 years. On the other hand, PVV, BBB, NSC and FvD are committed to maintaining the mortgage tax relief, while VVD’s Yeşilgöz has gone so far as to say the party will not join a coalition government that wants to get rid of the tax relief. 

Plans for increasing housing construction also include using other areas such as farmland or airports, creating new cities, or even adding extra roads in existing cities. Parties such as GL-PvdA, NSC, D66, CU and Volt also want to encourage housing associations to build more by decreasing or completely abolishing profit tax and relaxing building regulations so housing can be built more quickly. 

Immigration

All parties seem to be in agreement that migration should be more tightly controlled, but they differ largely in methods and strictness. PVV, VVD and JA21 would like to make it harder for people to seek asylum in the Netherlands to bring migration numbers down, while GL-PvdA and D66 want to protect labour migrants from exploitation in certain sectors.

Wilders’ PVV is pushing forward with a very strict migration policy, including plans to turn away refugees, close asylum centres and ban dual nationality. GL-PvdA wants to cap net migration to between 40.000 and 60.000 a year, while also increasing wages in sectors where labour migrants are exploited. 

Healthcare

The basic insurance package and the deductible, which is the maximum contribution that people must pay for their healthcare costs, have been the centre of discussions involving healthcare. The outgoing cabinet had plans to halve the deductible, which currently stands at 385 euros per year, but with the government changing, plans are likely to change. Indeed, GL-PvdA and SP want to abolish the deductible in the long term, while VVD wants to raise it to 440 euros per year. 

In their manifestos, parties have also proposed changes to the basic health insurance package. D66, VVD, CU, SGP, Volt and JA21 have opted to freeze the basic package, which means that new treatments and medications would not be added. According to NOS, GL-PvdA and SP have said they are against making cuts to the basic insurance package, which could mean a rise in healthcare costs. 

Which parties are expected to enter parliament?

The Dutch parliament has 150 seats, with 76 needed to create a majority. No political party has won the majority in the Netherlands since 1894. That means that with a proportional representation system, it is very unlikely that any one party will obtain a majority. Instead, a coalition of political parties is expected to be formed after some period of negotiations.

Based on polls by Ipsos I&O two weeks before the elections, it is still up in the air which parties could make it into government, with more than 50 percent of voters still unsure about which party they should choose, Peillingwijzer creator Tom Louwerse told NOS. 

Here are some of the parties and leaders that voters can expect to hear about on polling day (in order of how many seats the parties are forecast get, according to polls):

• PVV (Party for Freedom): Geert Wilders
• CDA (Christian Democratic Appeal): Henri Bontenbal
• GL-PvdA (Green Left/Labour Party): Frans Timmermans
• D66 (Democrats 66): Rob Jetten
• VVD (People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy): Dilan Yeşilgöz
• JA21 (Conservative Liberals): Joost Eerdmans
• FvD (Forum for Democracy): Lidewij de Vos
• PvdD (Party for the Animals): Esther Ouwehand
• SP (Socialist Party): Jimmy Dijk
• BBB (Farmer-Citizen Movement): Caroline van der Plas
• Volt: Laurens Dassem 
• CU (Christian Union): Mirjam Bikker
• SGP (Reformed Political Party): Chris Stoffer
• Denk: vacant
• NSC (New Social Contract): Eddy van Hijum

Though anything is possible on election day, the parties most likely to end up in the top spot are the ones with the largest number of seats. At the moment, that’s PVV, CDA or GL-PvdA. 

Who can vote in the Dutch general elections?

Only Dutch citizens are eligible to vote in the general elections in the Netherlands. This means that people living in the Netherlands with residence permits are not allowed to vote. 

Dutch nationals living abroad are also allowed to vote, either by post or proxy. These Dutch citizens will need to register to vote and will receive their voting documents in the mail. 

How does the Dutch parliamentary system work?

Throughout the late evening and into the night on October 29, many party leaders will most likely respond to how the votes are going, and may even start to collaborate on proposed coalition groups. It is expected that the votes will be counted by some time on October 30. 

Traditionally, the largest party will take the lead in this, and though discussions will begin on election night, coalitions often take many months to form. The previous government took eight months to form and then collapsed just 11 months after being sworn into office.