The Netherlands has voted, and their votes gave right-wing populist Geert Wilders the highest number of seats in the parliament.

With the Dutch party system, the PVV leader still only has a projected 37 of 150 seats in the Dutch parliament, but that’s more than any other singular party.

To become prime minister, Wilders still needs to form a coalition with other parties — and have them agree that he is the leader.

But let’s take a step back: anti-immigration? Right-wing? Is this really a Dutch Trump? And how will internationals living in the Netherlands be affected?

I read the PVV’s election promises document so you didn’t have to. Here’s what you should know about the PVV’s platform.

(Psst: the document title is called “Nederlanders weer op 1“ which translates to “Dutch people #1 again” — rings a bell to a certain American leader, right?)

Taking back the Netherlands

According to the 46-page election program for the PVV, the party represents the unease of Nederlanders.

“[T]he Netherlands is no longer the Netherlands. We all see it around us. Our country is overcrowded,” the document states.

“Our neighbourhoods and cities are often unrecognizable with a lot of nuisance and crime. We have to take back the Netherlands. Closing our borders to even more fortune seekers from other cultures is necessary.”

In the document, the word “Nederland” or “Nederlander(s)” appeared 121 times.

Anti-Islam

One of Wilder’s claims to fame is his hate of Islam.

The PVV therefore are pushing for a ban on Islamic education, Korans, mosques, and wearing Islamic headscarves in government buildings.

According to the document, Islam “threatens our freedom and our values”.

Cuts to climate-change funding

The party wants to bring some things back to the people: more roads, a reduction in the fuel excise duty, and improved public transport.

Well, that’s not too bad. Yet, that money has to come from somewhere. The party does say part of it will come from taxing banks on huge profits.

However, the party also wants to redirect billions currently reserved for the climate and nitrogen crises to “our own people”.

“We have been made to fear climate change for decades. Although the predicted disaster scenarios – about the world ending – became more and more extreme over the years, none of them ever came true.”

Cuts to arts, culture, public broadcasting, and expats

Wilder’s party also wants to eliminate “all kinds of nonsensical subsidies for art, culture, public broadcasting, expats, and greening”

What precisely they want to eliminate for expats is not stated, but the document does say they want to “severely limit” labour and study migrants in the Netherlands.

In the section “Asylum and immigration”, it attacks “non-Western” immigrants, arguing that more than half of the Dutch welfare system is comprised of these people.

Double nationality will also be forbidden.

Less international students

If Wilders gets his way, he’ll slash international student numbers by only offering Bachelor’s courses in Dutch.

The number of foreign students will also be capped.

Pro-Zwarte Piet and VOC

The party also claims to want to preserve Dutch culture.

“The left-wing hatred in which heroes from our history are taunted is ending. Apologies for the slavery past, and police actions, as done by the King, are withdrawn. Zwarte Piet remains.”

Yes, you read that right: the party that won the most seats in the Dutch election is pro-Zwarte Piet, the black-faced figure of the Netherlands that has shocked other countries for years.

Anti-EU

Finally, all those nice parts of the EU, like freedom of movement (that the UK lost in Brexit and immediately regretted)? Well, the PVV wants to renege on those too.

The document argues for opting out of EU regulations and reintroducing national border control.

In particular, if you’re an expat from another EU country, under a Wilders government they want you to have a work permit.

Whether Wilders will manage to get a majority remains to be seen. Over the coming weeks, we can expect a lot of negotiations between parties.

How do you feel about Wilders potentially becoming the next Dutch prime minister? Share your opinion in the comments below!

Populist right-wing leader Geert Wilders is leading the Dutch election, according to exit polls presented by IPSOS. 

The PVV leader, who is running on an anti-immigration ticket, is projected to snag 35 of the 150-seat Dutch parliament. 

Coming in second is the GL/PvdA led by Frans Timmermans with 25 seats. The VVD is looking at 24. Omtzigt and his new party NSC now stand at 20. 

It’s an exit poll, so the final results can differ, but the difference is expected to be two seats at most.

That makes it virtually certain that Wilders, whom Time Magazine crowned “The Dutch Trump”, will come out on top.

Will Wilders become the Dutch prime minister?

That remains to be seen. Dutch national politics involve so many parties that coalitions are virtually always required because it’s difficult for a single party to earn a full majority. 

That means for Wilders to become prime minister, he would need to successfully form a coalition with other big parties, like the VVD and NSC. 

Here’s the saving grace: both the VVD and the NSC have already indicated they’re not keen on forming a coalition. 

Better yet, the VVD has already said they don’t want want to support Wilders as PM.

When do we know more about the Dutch election results?

Official results will be announced tomorrow, so the seats could shift a bit. 

However, Wilders still needs to create a functioning coalition with at least 75 seats in parliament. Traditionally, that’s a process that takes months. 

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The polls are extremely tight, and no less than four contenders still have a decent chance to come out on top after today’s general elections in the Netherlands. 

These elections are going to be historic as they will produce another Prime Minister who isn’t Mark Rutte. But who will win the Dutch elections?

For weeks the VVD (right-wing liberal), first led by Mark Rutte but now spearheaded by Dilan Yeşilgöz, was in a tight race to emerge as the biggest Dutch party alongside the new political party, NSC, led by Pieter Omzigt. 

Both were closely followed by Frans Timmermans, leading the combined list of PvdA/GreenLeft (green left party and labour party) and somewhat trailing was the PVV (right-wing anti-Islam), of which Geert Wilders (yes, that guy) is the sole member.

Wilders surprisingly popular in the polls

However, in the past weeks, Wilders has been surging in the polls, with some polls even putting him and his party down as the frontrunners. 

You may be wondering how a notorious politician could be so popular. 

Firstly, there were some favourable debate performances where he spoke with a milder voice.

Secondly, Yeşilgöz from the VVD signalled that they weren’t completely against a coalition with Wilders (as was nearly always the case with Rutte.) 

This was seen as a tactical blunder by the VVD, as it now meant that a vote for Wilders wasn’t useless. 

As a result, there is a realistic possibility that he will end up in a right-wing coalition government. 

This all has spurred him onwards and has him projected as possibly the largest party in the Netherlands:

Polls are not election results

Of course, polls are not official results by any means. There are margins of error which are quite significant. 

In fact, a difference of a few percent more or less in the actual results is quite common. 

There’s still a chance that we have a VVD leader (again)

There are also other polls which still indicate that the VVD is on top. 

Even if Wilders’ PVV becomes the biggest party, it’s by no means decided that he will become Prime Minister. 

He would first have to form a coalition with other willing parties and then scheme his way to the PM seat in the coalition negotiations. 

Yeşilgöz, in a slight panic, is already backtracking on her willingness to team up with Wilders. 

But still, many people are shocked by the prospect of the anti-Islamic Wilders getting to the top position.

Who else is projected to win the Dutch elections?

It’s not all Wilders, however. The Netherlands may see any of the following party leaders come out on top tonight. 

Frans Timmermans of GL/PvdA is also gaining more popularity, according to the polls.

He served as the Executive Vice President of the European Commission, overseeing the European Green Deal. 

He was a member of the PvdA, the Dutch Labour Party and minister of Foreign Affairs from 2012 to 2014. The abbreviation of “GL/PvdA” refers to the political alliance of GroenLinks (GL), a left-wing environmental party, and the PvdA.

READ MORE | Elections are coming up! Here’s what Dutch parties think about internationals in the Netherlands 

Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius is a Dutch politician of Turkish-Kurdish descent and has replaced Mark Rutte as the frontrunner for the VVD. 

She was the minister of Justice in the last cabinet. Yeşilgöz would be the first woman and prime minister of the Netherlands of non-Dutch descent.

The popular parliamentarian Pieter Omtzigt and his new NSC party have seen a slight dip in the recent polls and are trailing behind somewhat now.

However, there’s still a statistical chance that he will end up on top. He’s all about reinvigorating the country’s governing structures but has quite a conservative agenda and wants to limit the number of migrants coming to the Netherlands.

When will we know the results of the Dutch elections?

The voting stations close at 9 PM. Immediately afterwards, a fairly accurate exit poll is presented.

But with the polls being this tight, we may have to wait until Thursday morning before we can accurately say who won and lost this election. 

In any case, it will take many months before a coalition government is formed, and we know for certain who will be stepping in Mark Rutte’s shoes.

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The Netherlands is holding national elections on Wednesday, November 22, and you might wonder whether you’re allowed to vote. Let’s get into it.

As an international, you may have voted in municipal or European Parliament elections in the Netherlands, but general elections are different.

In order to be eligible to vote in the parliamentary elections, you need to meet specific conditions.

Conditions for voting in the Dutch national election

If you want to vote in the 2023 elections, you must:

• Have Dutch nationality
• Be at least 18 years old
• Not be excluded from the right to vote (these are only under very specific circumstances and must be ruled by a judge)

Before we continue, you may be wondering what counts as Dutch nationality. This is important to understand.

Dutch nationality versus Dutch residency

Only people with Dutch nationality can vote in general elections as opposed to Dutch residents.

In other words, you must carry a Dutch passport or national identity card rather than a Dutch residence permit.

This means that even if you’re a non-EU student with a study permit or a skilled migrant with an indefinite work permit, you won’t be able to vote in general elections.

Can I vote as an international in the Dutch general elections?

As an international who was not born in the Netherlands, the only way for you to be eligible to vote in Dutch national elections is if you have obtained a Dutch passport or national identity card through naturalisation.

Are you a naturalised Dutch citizen with a Dutch passport? Congrats! This means that you can vote in the Dutch general elections.

Are you from the Dutch Caribbean? There are special requirements

If you’re a resident of the islands of Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba, you’re also eligible to vote in Dutch elections.

Dutch residents from the islands Aruba, Curacao and Sint Maarten can only vote if they have:

• Lived in the Netherlands for at least 10 years OR
• Work in a Dutch public service on one of these islands

Voting in Dutch elections within the Netherlands

Eligible to vote? Great. Here’s what you can expect:

At least two weeks before the elections, you will receive a voting pass (stempas) in the mail.

You have to take your voting pass and proof of identity (passport, driver’s license, national ID card) to vote at the polls.

At least four days before the elections, you will receive the list of candidates and the addresses of (mobile) polling stations.

Voting by proxy in the Netherlands

If you can’t vote yourself (whether you’re ill, temporarily outside of the Netherlands, or need to work), it is possible to authorise another voter to cast your vote for you.

This is called voting by proxy, which has its own rules and restrictions.

Voting in Dutch elections from abroad

It’s also possible to vote as a Dutch citizen from outside the Netherlands. However, first, you must register with the municipality of The Hague.

Once you have done this, you can vote through:

• A postal voting certificate and a ballot
• A written proxy
• A voter pass (for this option, you’ll have to be in the Netherlands on voting day)

More information about voting abroad is available on the Electoral Council website.

Will you be voting in Dutch national elections this year? Tell us in the comments!