Electoral districts of the Netherlands

The 20 electoral districts for general elections, as of 2022

The Netherlands has had electoral districts since 1814. From 1814, the districts matched the provinces and the members of the House of Representatives were elected indirectly via the provincial councils. ^[1]

After the Constitutional Reform of 1848, members of the House of Representatives were elected directly in a two-round system. 38 electoral districts (Dutch : kiesdistrict) were created, with sometimes multiple members per district who were elected in staggered elections. The number of districts increased over time, with 100 in 1896 when multi-member districts were abolished. ^[2]

After the Pacification of 1917, party-list proportional representation was introduced in Dutch elections. There are still electoral districts (Dutch : kieskring). Electoral lists are filed per district, which means the list can differ per district and lists might not participate in all districts. ^[2]

Proportional representation (1918–present)

Electoral districts differ between elections in the Netherlands. For the European Parliament elections, the Netherlands is a single district. ^[3]

House of Representatives

Electoral districts for general elections since 1918 ^{[4] [5]}

Number		Seat	Includes
Since 1989	Until 1989
1	XVI	Groningen	Province of Groningen
2	XIV	Leeuwarden	Province of Friesland
3	XVII	Assen	Province of Drenthe
4	XV	Zwolle	Province of Overijssel
5	XIX	Lelystad	Province of Flevoland
6	IV	Nijmegen	Municipalities of Berg en Dal, Beuningen, Buren, Culemborg, Druten, Heumen, Maasdriel, Neder-Betuwe, Nijmegen, Tiel, West Betuwe, West Maas en Waal, Wijchen, and Zaltbommel
7	III	Arnhem	Municipalities of the province of Gelderland, not belonging to electoral district 6
8	XIII	Utrecht	Province of Utrecht
9	IX	Amsterdam	Municipality of Amsterdam
10	XI	Haarlem	Municipalities of Aalsmeer, Amstelveen, Beverwijk, Blaricum, Bloemendaal, Diemen, Gooise Meren, Haarlem, Haarlemmermeer, Heemskerk, Heemstede, Hilversum, Huizen, Laren, Ouder-Amstel, Uithoorn, Velsen, Wijdemeren, and Zandvoort
11	X	Den Helder	Municipalities of the province of North Holland, not belonging to electoral districts 9 or 10
12	VI	The Hague	Municipality of The Hague, and postal voters abroad
13	V	Rotterdam	Municipality of Rotterdam
14	VIII	Dordrecht	Municipalities of Alblasserdam, Albrandswaard, Barendrecht, Delft, Dordrecht, Goeree-Overflakkee, Gorinchem, Hardinxveld-Giessendam, Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht, Hoeksche Waard, Maassluis, Midden-Delfland, Molenlanden, Nissewaard, Papendrecht, Ridderkerk, Rijswijk, Schiedam, Sliedrecht, Vlaardingen, Voorne aan Zee, Westland, and Zwijndrecht
15	VII	Leiden	Municipalities of the province of South Holland, not belonging to electoral districts 12, 13 or 14
16	XII	Middelburg	Province of Zeeland
17	II	Tilburg	Municipalities of Alphen-Chaam, Altena, Baarle-Nassau, Bergen op Zoom, Breda, Dongen, Drimmelen, Etten-Leur, Geertruidenberg, Gilze en Rijen, Goirle, Halderberge, Hilvarenbeek, Loon op Zand, Moerdijk, Oisterwijk, Oosterhout, Roosendaal, Rucphen, Steenbergen, Tilburg, Waalwijk, Woensdrecht, and Zundert
18	I	's-Hertogenbosch	Municipalities of the province of North Brabant, not belonging to electoral district 17
19	XVIII	Maastricht	Province of Limburg
20 [a]	—	Bonaire	Special municipalities of Bonaire, Saba, and Sint Eustatius

See also

• Electoral colleges for the Senate

References

1. "Historische ontwikkeling kiesstelsels en kiesrecht". Montesquieu Instituut (in Dutch). Retrieved 13 September 2024.
2. "Negentiende-eeuws districtenstelsel in Nederland". Parlement.com (in Dutch). Retrieved 13 September 2024.
3. "Kieskringen Tweede Kamerverkiezing en Europees Parlementsverkiezing". Kiesraad (in Dutch). 25 March 2024. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
4. "Kieskringen". Parlement.com (in Dutch). Retrieved 13 September 2024.
5. Kiesraad (11 September 1989). "Proces-verbaal zitting Kiesraad uitslag Tweede Kamerverkiezing 1989" (PDF) (in Dutch). Retrieved 13 September 2024.

Notes

1. Since 2010