What to Expect After the Municipal Elections

On Wednesday, March 18, municipal elections were held across the Netherlands. Approximately 14.3 million residents were eligible to vote in the 2026 local elections, including a significant number of international residents. Voter turnout exceeded 54 percent, marking an increase compared to the 51 percent recorded in the 2022 elections. 

What happens after the elections? 

After the elections, the party that receives the most votes becomes the largest party in the municipal council. This party then looks for other parties to cooperate with in order to form a majority. Together, these parties negotiate and make agreements about municipal plans for the next four years. In most cases, political parties have to compromise, as no single party gets everything it wants. 

Once the parties reach an agreement, they form a municipal executive (the governing body of the municipality). The executive is responsible for carrying out the plans made by the council, and it can also propose new plans. 

The municipal council has two main tasks. First, it decides on local plans and regulations, like housing, waste, infrastructures, etc. A proposal is adopted if more than half of the council members vote in favour of it. Second, the council monitors the mayor and the municipal executive. After a plan is approved, it is carried out by the mayor and the executive, while the council ensures that everything is implemented properly. Council members can ask questions, hold the executive accountable, and even dismiss executive members who fail to do their job. If that happens, a new executive member must be appointed. 

For example, imagine there is a dangerous intersection where many accidents occur. An executive member may propose a solution, such as turning the intersection into a roundabout. The municipal council then discusses the proposal, led by the mayor. Council members consider whether the plan is effective and may suggest changes. Finally, the council votes on the proposal. If a majority supports it, the plan is approved and carried out. 

How are seats appointed? 

The size of a municipal council in the Netherlands depends on the number of inhabitants in the municipality. Larger municipalities have more council members, while smaller ones have fewer. For example, municipalities with more than 200,000 inhabitants have councils consisting of 45 members, whereas the smallest municipalities, with fewer than 3,000 inhabitants, have councils of just 9 members. 

To determine how these seats are distributed, the central electoral office follows a structured process that translates votes into council seats. First, all valid votes cast for parties and their candidates are counted. Based on the total number of votes and the number of available council seats, the electoral quotient is calculated by dividing the total number of valid votes by the number of seats. This quotient represents the number of votes required to obtain one seat. 

Next, each party’s total number of votes is divided by the electoral quotient. The whole number result determines how many full seats each party receives. Since this calculation rarely results in a perfect distribution of all seats, some seats typically remain unallocated. These are referred to as residual seats. 

The method for distributing these remaining seats depends on the size of the municipality. In larger municipalities, with 19 or more council seats, residual seats are allocated using the system of largest averages. In this system, the electoral office calculates an average number of votes per seat for each party by dividing the party’s total votes by its number of allocated seats plus one. The party with the highest average receives the next available seat. This process is repeated, recalculating averages each time, until all remaining seats are distributed. 

In smaller municipalities, with fewer than 19 council seats, residual seats are first allocated using the system of largest surpluses. This method looks at the number of votes each party has left over after the allocation of full seats. Parties that have not obtained a full seat are only eligible for a residual seat if they have achieved at least 75% of the electoral quotient. The remaining seats are then distributed to the parties with the largest surpluses, with each party receiving at most one additional seat in this phase. 

If there are still seats left after applying the largest surplus system, the remaining seats are distributed using the system of largest averages. In this final step as well, each party may receive only one additional seat. 

In rare cases where parties have exactly the same number of votes and there are not enough seats available, the allocation of the remaining seat is decided by a draw. 

2026 Municipal Elections Results 

This overview shows the number of seats each party won across the Leiden region’s municipalities. You can use these results to start imagining the direction that your next municipal council might take. 

Leiden 

Leiderdorp 

Voorschoten 

Zoeterwoude 

If you need to read more about the parties in your council, you can check our municipal elections page.