2023 Dutch Senate election

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2023 Dutch Senate election
Flag of the Netherlands.svg
  2019 30 May 2023 2027  

All 75 seats in the Senate
38 seats needed for a majority
PartyLeader%Seats+/–
BBB Ilona Lagas 20.6616New
VVD Edith Schippers 12.4010−2
GL [lower-alpha 1] Paul Rosenmöller 9.677−1
PvdA [lower-alpha 1] Mei Li Vos 8.867+1
CDA Theo Bovens 7.346−3
D66 Paul van Meenen 6.235−2
PVV Marjolein Faber 6.104−1
PvdD Niko Koffeman 4.7830
JA21 Annabel Nanninga 4.633New
SP Tiny Kox 4.143−1
CU Tineke Huizinga 3.683−1
FvD Johan Dessing 2.722−10
Volt Gaby Perin-Gopie 2.702New
SGP Peter Schalk 2.4820
50+ Martin van Rooijen 1.821−1
OPNL Auke van der Goot 1.7810
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.
President of the Senate beforePresident of the Senate after
Jan Anthonie Bruijn (2021) (cropped).jpg Jan Anthonie Bruijn
VVD
Jan Anthonie Bruijn
VVD
Jan Anthonie Bruijn (2021) (cropped).jpg

An election to the Dutch Senate was held on 30 May 2023. [2] The 75 members of the Senate were elected by members of the provincial councils and electoral colleges elected two months earlier in provincial and electoral college elections.

Contents

The four coalition parties saw their combined seat count decrease from 32 to 24. The Farmer–Citizen Movement (BBB), which had come first in the provincial elections, entered the Senate with 16 seats. The Labour Party and GroenLinks, which intend to form a joint parliamentary group, won a combined 14 seats.

Background

Since 2017, the Netherlands has had coalition governments consisting of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), Democrats 66 (D66), the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) and the Christian Union (CU). After the 2019 Senate election, this coalition lost its majority in the Senate, holding 32 seats. Being 6 seats short of a majority made it necessary for the government to seek cooperation with opposition parties such as the Labour Party (PvdA), GroenLinks and JA21 in order to get legislation through the Senate. The coalition parties were long expected to lose more seats in the 2023 Senate election, which would make it more difficult for the government to find majorities for important legislation. [3]

In June 2022, members of the PvdA and GroenLinks voted in favour of the formation of a joint Senate group after the 2023 election. This makes the election an important step for the GroenLinks–PvdA alliance. [4]

Since 2019, the government has had the intention to limit the human impact on the nitrogen cycle. Its nitrogen bill has met resistance from several opposition parties including the Farmer–Citizen Movement (BBB), which was founded in 2019 and entered the House of Representatives with one seat in 2021. With BBB expected to become a significant force in the Senate after the 2023 election, the government was expected to look to the left for support. However, in early March 2023, PvdA and GroenLinks, as well as other left-wing parties, also announced their intention to vote against the nitrogen bill in the Senate. [5] The government is also expected to face difficulty finding majorities for its climate legislation [6] and its bill for the distribution of asylum seekers. [7]

The government is therefore expected to have to make concessions to opposition parties on these pieces of legislation. However, voters of coalition parties are divided over the question whether the government should turn "left" or "right" in search of support for its legislation. A March 2023 poll shows that a majority of D66 voters wants the government to cooperate with GroenLinks–PvdA, while a majority of VVD and CDA voters would prefer for the government to cooperate with BBB. [8]

Electoral system

The Senate consists of 75 members elected every four years by the members of the provincial councils of the country's twelve provinces, and, following law changes in 2017 and 2022, electoral colleges representing the special municipalities of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba [9] [10] and Dutch nationals living abroad, who are in turn elected directly by the citizens two months earlier in the 2023 provincial and electoral college elections.

The weight of each elector's vote is determined by the population of the province or special municipality which the elector represents, at a ratio of approximately 1 vote per 100 residents. The seats are distributed in one nationwide constituency using party-list proportional representation. [11]

Electors

Party or alliance Provincial councils Electoral colleges Total+/−
DR FL FR GE GR LI NB NH OV UT ZE ZH NI BO SA SE
Farmer–Citizen Movement 17101414121011817798137New
GL–PvdA GroenLinks [lower-alpha 2] 233554574736559−2
Labour Party [lower-alpha 2] 435553473334251−2
Total668101079147106107000110−4
People's Party for Freedom and Democracy 443625984648467−13
Christian Democratic Appeal 3244254244541145−27
Democrats 66 121323442514436−5
Party for Freedom 23222643222434−6
Party for the Animals 221222241313227+7
JA21 12122232214224New
Socialist Party 221223421112124−11
Christian Union [lower-alpha 3] 2223311331223−9
Forum for Democracy 121111121112217−69
Reformed Political Party 23225216+2
OPNL Frisian National Party 440
Groninger Belang330
Lokaal Brabant22+1
Lokaal Limburg220
Party for Zeeland 220
Party for the North 11−1
Provinciaal Belang Fryslân11+1
Sterk Lokaal Drenthe110
Sterk Lokaal Flevoland11New
Total115042200020000017+2
Volt Netherlands 12112121213New
50PLUS 11112118−9
Windward Islands People's Movement 55+1
Democratic Party of Sint Eustatius 44−1
Bonaire Democratic Party 330
Bonaire Patriotic Union 220
Bonaire People's Movement 22−2
Independent Jaap Kos11New
Movement 21 11New
DENK 0−4
Saba Labour Party 0−1
Total43414355434755554749395525955616+27
Weight per vote [12] 117109153388139240478537252283100692202747
Total weighted votes5,0314,4696,57921,3405,97711,28026,29029,53511,84413,8673,90038,0605002432035178,970+5,295

Participating parties

The following parties were due to participate in the 2023 Senate election: [13]

ListParty Lead candidate 2019 result
1 Forum for Democracy FvD Johan Dessing 15.87% (12 seats)
2 People's Party for Freedom and Democracy VVD Edith Schippers 15.11% (12 seats)
3 Christian Democratic Appeal CDA Theo Bovens 11.41% (9 seats)
4 GroenLinks [lower-alpha 1] GL Paul Rosenmöller 11.18% (8 seats)
5 Democrats 66 D66 Paul van Meenen 8.75% (7 seats)
6 Labour Party [lower-alpha 1] PvdA Mei Li Vos 8.62% (6 seats)
7 Party for Freedom PVV Marjolein Faber 6.53% (5 seats)
8 Socialist Party SP Tiny Kox 5.88% (4 seats)
9 Christian Union CU Tineke Huizinga 5.03% (4 seats)
10 Party for the Animals PvdD Niko Koffeman 3.78% (3 seats)
11 50PLUS 50+ Martin van Rooijen 3.03% (2 seats)
12 Reformed Political Party SGP Peter Schalk 2.60% (2 seats)
13 Independent Politics Netherlands OPNLAuke van der Goot1.31% (1 seat)
14 JA21 JA21 Annabel Nanninga
15 Farmer–Citizen Movement BBB Ilona Lagas
16 Volt Netherlands VOLTGaby Perin-Gopie

Seat projections

The table and graphs below show seat projections for the Senate election. Projections before the provincial and electoral college elections on 15 March are based on opinion polling for the provincial elections. The 15 March projection is based on exit polls of the provincial elections, while the 19 March projection by ANP is based on preliminary results of the provincial and electoral college elections. [14]

All coalition parties (VVD, D66, CDA and CU) are expected to lose seats. The Farmer–Citizen Movement (BBB) is projected to become the largest party in the Senate with 17 seats. The alliance of PvdA and GroenLinks is expected to gain one seat, while Forum for Democracy is projected to drop from 12 down to 2 seats.

Projections in November 2022 predicted a drop to just 23 seats for the coalition, then rose to a peak of 28 in late February 2023, followed by a drop down to 22 after the provincial elections; 16 seats short of a majority in the Senate (38 seats needed). A majority could be reached with support from BBB. The projected 15 seats of the GroenLinks–PvdA alliance will be insufficient to reach a majority, and the support of at least one other opposition party would be required.

Seat projections for the 2023 Senate election
Polling firmFieldwork dateSample size BBB GL PvdA VVD CDA D66 PVV PvdD SP JA21 FvD CU 50+ SGP OPNL Volt Denk Others Rutte IV
2023 election [15] 30 May 2023N/A1677106543332312120024−14
ANP 19 Mar 2023N/A [lower-alpha 4] 1787105554332211110022−16
Ipsos 15 Mar 2023N/A [lower-alpha 5] 1587105644332311120024−14
Ipsos 10–14 Mar 20232,0021386125484532211010023−15
Peil.nl 10–11 Mar 20233,000+1214124784332301110026−12
I&O 2–6 Mar 20238,1961314103575452202120020−18
Peil.nl 3–4 Mar 20233,000+1014125783433301110027−11
Ipsos 17–27 Feb 20235,291985155694532201010028−10
Peil.nl 17–18 Feb 20233,000+813135694452301110027−11
Ipsos 10–13 Feb 20231,961865155794432202111029−9
Peil.nl 27–28 Jan 20233,000+713124694363302120025−13
Peil.nl 11–12 Nov 20223,000+61311361044723623−15
2019 election 27 May 2019N/A8612975341242210032−6

Results

As projected, the Farmer–Citizen Movement became the largest party, winning 16 seats (as opposed to the projected 17). Strategic voting of D66 and VVD electors resulted in extra seats for their coalition partners CDA and CU. [16] Moreover, compared to the projections, GroenLinks lost one seat to Volt as GroenLinks elector Debora Fernald voted for Volt. [17]

With the coalition parties winning 24 seats in the Senate, an additional 14 opposition votes are necessary for a 38 vote majority. Support from either BBB (16) or GroenLinks–PvdA (14) suffices. [18]

PartyUnweighted voteWeighted voteSeats
VotesDeviation %Votes %±ppQuotientRemainderTotal+/−
Farmer–Citizen Movement 137±022.2436,97620.66New15116New
People's Party for Freedom and Democracy 67±010.8822,19412.40−2.719110−2
GroenLinks 55−48.9317,3139.67−1.51707−1
Labour Party 68+1711.0415,8628.86+0.24617+1
Christian Democratic Appeal 47+27.6313,1367.34−4.07516−3
Democrats 66 37+16.0111,1446.23−2.52415−2
Party for Freedom 34±05.5210,9226.10−0.43404−1
Party for the Animals 27±04.388,5604.78+1.003030
JA21 24±03.908,2894.63New303New
Socialist Party 24±03.907,4044.14−1.74303−1
Christian Union 23±03.736,5953.68−1.35213−1
Forum for Democracy 17±02.764,8662.72−13.15202−10
Volt 14+12.274,8262.70New202New
Reformed Political Party 17+12.764,4362.48−0.121120
50PLUS 8±01.303,2641.82−1.21101−1
Independent Politics Netherlands 17±02.763,1831.78+0.471010
Total616+18100.00178,970100.00687750
Source: Kiesraad

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 GroenLinks and the Labour Party took part in the election with separate lists, but intend to form a joint Senate group. [1]
  2. 1 2 Includes 3 out of 6 members of the GroenLinks–PvdA group in the Provincial Council of Zeeland.
  3. Includes 1 member of the ChristenUnie–SGP group in the Provincial Council of North Brabant.
  4. Based on preliminary results of the provincial and electoral college elections, with 99% of votes counted.
  5. Based on exit polls of the provincial elections.

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