The Netherlands will elect a new government on March 15. With 17 days to go, here is a round-up of the latest election news.

Trouble for voters abroad

Over 530 Dutch nationals abroad have not yet received their ballot papers, making it impossible for them to vote in the general election, according to research by D66.

This year, a record 77,000 Dutch nationals have registered to vote abroad. ‘In The Hague they said they would send out the last ballot papers on February 7, but there were so many applications, some were not sent until February 24,’ said D66 parliamentary hopeful Eelco Keij.

Voters either have to send back their ballot paper to the Netherlands or hand it in at a Dutch embassy. But most of the embassies have a deadline of March 1, Keij points out.

Wilders is safe, says PM

Geert Wilders can continue with his election campaign perfectly safely, and has chosen himself to stop public appearances, prime minister Mark Rutte said on Monday. Wilders suspended his campaign last week because of a security scare surrounding his police protection detail.

Rutte said he is concerned about the reports but that it would be wrong to say the entire protection squad is a mess. ‘It includes the best people we have,’ Rutte said.

Women first

While none of the big parties are lead by women, the top five all have a woman in second place on their list of potential MPs. Fleur Agema (PVV), Jeanine Hennis (VVD), Mona Keijzer (CDA), Stientje van Veldhoven (D66) and Renske Leijten (SP) took part in a televised debate on Sunday morning to discuss healthcare, public safety and the Dutch identity.

The only party currently in parliament to be lead by a woman – the pro-animal rights PvdD, was not invited to take part.