Right wing parties are set to make major gains in this week’s EU parliamentary elections, and the far right PVV in the Netherlands, that currently has no MEPs, is tipped to emerge as the biggest party here.

In total, the Netherlands will elect 31 new members of the European parliament on June 6. Voting is open to both Dutch nationals and EU nationals who registered before the deadline of April 23.

Explainer: How the European parliament works

If you can vote, you will have already received your voting card – or stempas, plus a printed list of polling stations. Voting takes place on June 6. Check the list that came with your stempas to decide where to vote.

Who to vote for?

But how do you know who to vote for, particularly if your Dutch is not up to scratch to understand the websites and manifestos?

Here is our useful list of the main national parties that you will find on the ballot paper with links to any information they have in English. The list also includes which European party they are aligned with and links to these party websites.

If you need help in deciding which party to vote for, you can use an online tool known as a stemwijzer, which helps you think about the main issues and what can be done about them.

Debates and podcasts

If you want to listen or watch some political debate here are links to the Dutch News podcasts and a debate about the elections in English

Politico debate in Maastricht

Debate between European group leaders

DutchNews.nl podcasts

Interviews with the candidates

Bas Eickhout, number one on the GroenLinks-PvdA list: “A stagnant Europe is an advantage for Putin and Trump”

Raquel García Hermida-van der Walle, number two on the D66 list: “Spanish by birth, Dutch by choice and European by conviction”

Jessika van Leeuwen, number two on the BBB list: BBB wants to have a strong lobby in Brussels

At the polling station

So, once you have made up your mind which party to vote for, how do you actually cast your ballot?

To vote, take your stempas and some form of ID to the polling station of your choice. You will be given a ballot paper listing the names of every person who is standing for election, broken down into party lists.

Pick the party you want to vote for at the top of the paper and then select the person you want to vote for from the list. All votes count towards the party’s support, but if someone lower down the list gets a lot of votes, they may be able to leapfrog other candidates and win a seat in parliament.

To vote, fill in the white circle with the red pencil provided.

Then leave the cubicle and place your ballot paper in the box. And with that you’ve done your democratic duty.