Almost seven out of 10 candidates for next month’s provincial elections are men, according to local news service LocalFocus.

Most women are running for office in Friesland, where 36% of the candidates are female. In Drenthe, just over one in four provincial hopefuls is a woman.

The pro-animal Partij voor de Dieren bucks the trend – it has more female than male candidates.

The Dutch go to the polls to elect 12 new provincial councils on March 18. The members of those councils will then elect the 75 members of the senate on May 26.

The two ruling parties – the right-wing VVD and Labour (PvdA) – are currently trailing in the polls and this means they will probably fall far short of a majority in the senate after the vote.