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Early general elections will be held in the Netherlands on 29 October 2025 [1] to elect members of the House of Representatives, after the Schoof cabinet collapsed due to the Party for Freedom (PVV) withdrawing from the coalition.
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 12 June 2025, the Labour Party and GroenLinks agreed to participate with one shared candidate list again, and to merge their parties in 2026. [6]
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. [7] This approach has drawn criticism from local politicians and the Association of Netherlands Municipalities, who accuse Wilders of improper interference in local politics and of inciting unnecessary fear and division. [8]
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 by semi-open list proportional representation. 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%. [9] 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. [10] [11]
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