Over 9,000 polling stations all over the Netherlands are open on Wednesday for the third and final day of voting in the local elections.

In total, almost 13.6 million people are eligible to vote in 333 local council areas. There are no elections in 10 areas because they voted more recently, following boundary changes and mergers.

The electorate includes 840,000 youngsters who are able to vote for the first time, and around 500,000 international voters – either EU citizens or long-time residents.

Dutch not great? Here’s how to vote and to choose who to vote for

Turnout in the local elections is usually around 55%, well down on the general election vote, but only around 44% of youngsters voted last time round in 2018. The international vote is said to be even lower, although there is little concrete research.

During the European elections in 2019, just 12% of 490,000 EU nationals who were eligible to vote in the Netherlands, registered to cast their ballot. In the local elections, however, people who are allowed to vote are automatically sent a stempas, or voting card.

Brussels to act on boosting EU residents’ voting rights

Dutch News has a special election section featuring voting aids, information about the campaigns and links to English language political sources. You can also take part in the traditional election poll.

The Dutch News team will also provide live coverage as the results come in after 9pm on Wednesday evening.