2025 Dutch general election

2025 Dutch general election

←  2023 29 October 2025 2029 →

outgoing members

All 150 seats in the House of Representatives 76 seats needed for a majority

Party Leader Current seats PVV Geert Wilders 37 GL/PvdA Frans Timmermans 25 VVD Dilan Yeşilgöz 24 NSC Eddy van Hijum 19 D66 Rob Jetten 9 BBB Caroline van der Plas 8 CDA Henri Bontenbal 5 SP Jimmy Dijk 5 Denk Stephan van Baarle 3 PvdD Esther Ouwehand 3 FvD Lidewij de Vos 3 SGP Chris Stoffer 3 CU Mirjam Bikker 3 Volt Laurens Dassen 2 JA21 Joost Eerdmans 1 Municipal result Incumbent cabinet Schoof cabinet VVD–BBB

Early general elections will be held in the Netherlands on 29 October 2025 to elect the members of the House of Representatives. ^[1] The elections had been expected to be held in 2028, but a snap election was called after the Schoof cabinet collapsed due to the Party for Freedom (PVV) withdrawing from the coalition.

Background

Further information: 2023–2024 Dutch cabinet formation

The 2023 Dutch general election resulted in losses for all parties in the fourth Rutte cabinet. The Party for Freedom (PVV) became the largest party in the House of Representatives for the first time and then formed a coalition with the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), New Social Contract (NSC) and the Farmer–Citizen Movement (BBB). The Schoof cabinet with the independent Dick Schoof as prime minister was sworn in on 2 July 2024. On 3 June 2025, PVV left the coalition due to disagreements over asylum policy, ^[2] leading to Schoof submitting the resignation of the cabinet. ^[3]

A snap election was called for 29 October 2025; ^[4] originally, the next general election was scheduled for 15 March 2028. ^[5] On 23 August 2025, NSC also left the coalition, citing disagreements over sanctions against Israel for the Gaza war. ^[6] On 12 June 2025, the Labour Party and GroenLinks agreed to participate with one shared candidate list again and to merge their parties in 2026. ^[7]

Compared to the 2023 election, three incumbent parliamentary parties have had a change in their lead candidate. Jimmy Dijk replaced Lilian Marijnissen as Socialist Party (SP) leader within a month after the election, ^[8] Thierry Baudet stepped down for Lidewij de Vos to be the lead candidate of Forum for Democracy (FvD), ^[9] and Eddy van Hijum was chosen as lead candidate of NSC after Pieter Omtzigt and Nicolien van Vroonhoven stepped down. ^[10]

Electoral system

Main article: Elections in the Netherlands

Pursuant to articles C.1, C.2 and C.3 of the electoral law, elections for the House of Representatives take place every four years in March, unless a snap election is called. The 150 members of the House of Representatives are elected through semi-open lists under proportional representation in a single nationwide constituency. The number of seats per list is determined using the D'Hondt method. A list must receive a number of votes equal to or exceeding the Hare quota (1 full seat) in order to qualify for seat distribution, meaning there is an electoral threshold of 0.67%. ^[11]

Voters have the option to cast a preferential vote. The seats won by a list are first allocated to the candidates who, in preferential votes, have received at least 25% of the Hare quota (effectively ¼ of a seat or 0.17% of the total votes), regardless of their placement on the electoral list. If multiple candidates from a list pass this threshold, their ordering is determined based on the number of votes received. Any remaining seats are allocated to candidates according to their position on the electoral list. ^{[12] [13]}

Parties and lead candidates

See also: List of candidates in the 2025 Dutch general election

List	Party			Lead candidate	Ideology	2023 result	Districts
1		Party for Freedom	PVV	Geert Wilders	Nationalism, right-wing populism	23.49% (37 seats)	20
2		GroenLinks–PvdA	GL/PvdA	Frans Timmermans	Social democracy, green politics	15.75% (25 seats)	20
3		People's Party for Freedom and Democracy	VVD	Dilan Yeşilgöz	Conservative liberalism	15.24% (24 seats)	20
4		New Social Contract	NSC	Eddy van Hijum	Christian democracy	12.88% (20 seats)	20
5		Democrats 66	D66	Rob Jetten	Social liberalism	6.29% (9 seats)	20
6		Farmer–Citizen Movement	BBB	Caroline van der Plas	Agrarianism, right-wing populism, conservatism	4.65% (7 seats)	20
7		Christian Democratic Appeal	CDA	Henri Bontenbal	Christian democracy, conservatism	3.31% (5 seats)	20
8		Socialist Party	SP	Jimmy Dijk	Democratic socialism, left-wing populism, cultural conservatism	3.15% (5 seats)	20
9		Denk	Denk	Stephan van Baarle	Minority interests, social conservatism	2.37% (3 seats)	20
10		Party for the Animals	PvdD	Esther Ouwehand	Animal rights advocacy, environmentalism	2.25% (3 seats)	20
11		Forum for Democracy	FVD	Lidewij de Vos	National conservatism, right-wing populism	2.23% (3 seats)	20
12		Reformed Political Party	SGP	Chris Stoffer	Christian right, social conservatism	2.08% (3 seats)	20
13		Christian Union	CU	Mirjam Bikker	Christian democracy	2.04% (3 seats)	20
14		Volt Netherlands	Volt	Laurens Dassen	Social liberalism, European federalism	1.71% (2 seats)	20
15		JA21	JA21	Joost Eerdmans	Conservative liberalism, right-wing populism	0.68% (1 seat)	20
16		Peace for Animals	VvD	Pascale Plusquin	Animal rights advocacy, pacifism	—	20
17		Interest of the Netherlands	BVNL	Wybren van Haga	Classical liberalism, right-wing populism	0.51% (0 seats)	20
18		Bij1	BIJ1	Tofik Dibi	Socialism, anti-racism	0.42% (0 seats)	20
19		Libertarian Party	LP	Tom van Lamoen	Libertarianism	0.04% (0 seats)	19
20		50Plus	50+	Jan Struijs	Pensioner's interests	0.49% (0 seats)	19
21		Pirate Party	PPNL	Matthijs Pontier	Pirate politics	0.09% (0 seats)	18
22		Frisian National Party	FNP	Aant Jelle Soepboer	Regionalism, Frisian interests	—	16
23		Free Alliance	VV	Bart Burggraaf	Classical liberalism	—	13
24		De Linie	DL	Gerard van Hooft	Right-wing populism	—	10
25		Netherlands with a Plan	NLPLAN	Kok Kuen Chan	Participatory democracy	0.05% (0 seats)	9
26		Ellect	ELLECT	Joana Amoah	Abolitionism	—	5
27		Party for the Rule of Law	PVDR	Danielle Tulp	Rule of law advocacy	—	2

Campaign

According to polls, the housing market, immigration, and healthcare were the main topics in the months prior to the election. ^{[14] [15] [16]} GroenLinks–PvdA (GL/PvdA), Democrats 66 (D66), the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), the Socialist Party (SP), the Christian Union (CU), and Volt included the reduction of the mortgage interest deduction in their party manifestos. That was opposed by the Party for Freedom (PVV), the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), New Social Contract (NSC), the Farmer–Citizen Movement (BBB), and Forum for Democracy (FvD). ^[17]

According to the Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis, GL/PvdA and BBB wanted to keep the halving of the deductible for healthcare, whereas VVD, CDA, Volt, and JA21 wanted to increase it to € 440. GL/PvdA, D66, CU, and Volt wanted more wealth tax and profit tax, in contrast to VVD, BBB, and JA21, all of which did not want that and wanted to cut back on development aid. VVD, NSC, and the Reformed Political Party (SGP) did not want additional measures to reach climate goals, and BBB and JA21 wanted to emit more CO₂. ^[18]

Wilders attending a protest against an asylum seeker center in Helmond in July 2025

PVV leader Geert Wilders has attended local protests against asylum seeker centers in Helmond and Zwolle, urging municipalities to defy the Dispersal Act, and making these protests a central part of his election campaign. ^[19] This approach drew criticism from local politicians and the Association of Netherlands Municipalities, who accused Wilders of improper interference in local politics and of inciting unnecessary fear and division. ^[20] In August 2025, a discrimination hotline and Muslim organisations filed complaints against Wilders over a tweet comparing a young blonde woman with PVV and an older woman wearing a headscarf with the Labour Party (PvdA). The tweet drew a record amount of complaints to the hotline and was compared to Nazi propaganda. ^[21]

A ban against political advertisement on platforms of Meta started on 6 October 2025. In the month leading up to the ban, FvD and D66 spent the most money on advertisements on Facebook and Instagram. ^[22] On 10 October, Wilders was named as a target of a terror cell, for which three men were arrested a day earlier. The National Coordinator for Security and Counterterrorism did not expect any remaining threat; however, citing bad feelings, Wilders suspended his campaign. ^{[23] [24]} On 15 October, he resumed his campaign. ^[25]

Possible coalitions

Multiple parties, including GL/PvdA, VVD, and CDA, stated they would not want to form a government with PVV. Wilders stated he wanted to govern, possibly in a minority government. ^[26] GL/PvdA and VVD both stated they would rather not govern with each other but did not rule out working together in a government. ^[27] VVD preferred a centre-right coalition that included D66, BBB, CDA, and JA21, while D66 opposed any right-wing coalition and instead favored a national unity government, involving both left-wing and right-wing parties. ^[28] JA21 did not rule out any party to govern with, although party leader Joost Eerdmans stated he did not see JA21 in a cabinet with GL/PvdA or D66. ^[29]

Debates

Dutch general election debates, 2025 ^[30]

Date	Title or organizer	Channel	P  Present  S  Substitute present  A  Absent  I  Invited  NI  Not invited															Ref.
			Van Baarle	Bikker	Bontenbal	Dassen	Dijk	Eerdmans	Van Hijum	Jetten	Ouwehand	Van der Plas	Stoffer	Timmermans	De Vos	Wilders	Yeşilgöz
10 October	NOS	NPO Radio 1	P	P	P	A	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	A	P	[31] [32]
12 October	WNL op Zondag [a]	NPO 1	NI	NI	S	NI	NI	S	NI	S	NI	NI	NI	S	NI	S	S	[33]
	RTL Nieuws	RTL 4	NI	NI	P	NI	NI	NI	NI	P	NI	NI	NI	P	NI	A	P	[34] [35]
19 October	RTL Tonight  [ nl ]		NI	NI	P	NI	P	P	NI	P	NI	NI	NI	P	NI	A	P	[36]
23 October	Het Debat van Nederland	SBS6	NI	NI	P	NI	NI	NI	NI	NI	NI	NI	NI	P	NI	P	P	[37] [38]
25 October	Debat van het Zuiden	Omroep Brabant, Omroep Zeeland and L1	NI	NI	P	NI	P	P	NI	P	NI	NI	NI	P	NI	P	P	[39] [40] [41]
26 October	NOS Jeugdjournaal	NPO 3	NI	NI	P	NI	NI	NI	P	P	NI	NI	NI	P	NI	P	P	[42]
27 October	EenVandaag	NPO 1	NI	NI	I	NI	NI	I	NI	I	NI	NI	NI	I	NI	I	I	[43]
28 October	NOS		I	I	NI	I	NI	NI	NI	NI	I	NI	I	NI	I	NI	NI	[42]
			NI	NI	I	NI	I	I	I	I	NI	I	NI	I	NI	I	I

Opinion polls

Main article: Opinion polling for the 2025 Dutch general election

After rising in the polls in the first months after the 2023 Dutch general election, the Party for Freedom (PVV) has declined from March 2024 onwards; however, it has continued to lead. GroenLinks–PvdA (GL/PvdA) has consistently polled in second place, between 22 and 30 seats. The Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) have consistently risen in the polls, at first at the expense of New Social Contract (NSC) and later of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD). ^{[44] [45]} In the final months before the election, JA21 also rose significantly in the polls.

Notes

1. Debate with the parties' second-placed candidates: Sebastiaan Stöteler (PVV), Esmah Lahlah (GL/PvdA), Eelco Heinen (VVD), Jan Paternotte (D66), Hanneke Steen (CDA), and Annabel Nanninga (JA21).

References

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