The counting of votes is public. People are allowed to come and watch, but they are not allowed to hinder the counters. In Amsterdam all votes are counted in the RAI, in Rotterdam in Ahoy, in Utrecht in the Jaarbeurs and in The Hague largely in the World Forum.
The votes cast on Monday and Tuesday were also counted on Wednesday during the day. Due to corona, this option for early voting was open, just like last year in the elections to the House of Representatives. The outcome of this count will be announced shortly after the polls close.
The counting is done by hand and starts with a quick count at the list level: adding up all valid votes per political party. The polling stations pass on the results of the quick count to their municipality. Then the valid votes per candidate are counted. When that is ready, the polling station draws up an official report, which is brought to the municipality.
The polling stations add up the results on the basis of the official reports. On Monday 21 March, the municipal central polling stations will then determine the official result and the distribution of seats in a public meeting.
On Wednesday 30 March, the incumbent councilors will step down and the new members will be installed. Due to a municipal reclassification with Weesp, this will already take place on 24 March in the municipality of Amsterdam.