Elections for the House of Representatives on 12 September 2012

News item | 27-04-2012 | 11:01

Registration of political groupings

New political parties can apply to the Electoral Council for the registration of an appellation (name) until 18 June 2012. This is, however, not mandatory. Parties can also participate with a so-called empty list. This means that no name is stated on the top of the list of candidates and on the ballot papers; the party only receives a number.

Registration of voters living abroad

Dutch citizens who live and/or temporarily reside abroad on the election day, for example in the exercise of their profession, have until 1 August 2012 to have themselves registered as a voter. The municipal executive of the municipality of The Hague has to have received the application for registration on that day.

Nomination of candidates

The nomination of candidates takes place on 31 July 2012. On this day, the political parties submit their list of candidates with the principal electoral committees in the electoral districts where they would like to participate. Under certain conditions, parties may also submit their list centrally, i.e., with the principal electoral committee of The Hague.

When drawing up their list of candidates, political parties may make use of the Election Supporting Software (ESS). This software will be available from mid May.

New House of Representatives on 20 September

On Monday 17 September, the central electoral committee (the Electoral Council) will determine the election results in a public meeting. The new House of Representatives will meet for the first time on Thursday 20 September.

The last elections for the House of Representatives took place on 9 June 2010. These elections were so-called dissolution elections as well, taking place after the government fell.

Would you like more information?

More information about the election process can be found on the website, under elections of the House of Representatives.