Almost 13.6 million people in 334 municipalities will be allowed to vote in the municipal elections from Monday. The elections are Wednesday, but due to the corona virus, voters can hand in their bill two days earlier. And the first polling stations are already open! While most bureaus open their doors between 07:30 and 21:00, early train passengers at Harderwijk station can already vote from 06:00.
There is a mobile polling station on the forecourt of the Gelderse station, which, according to the ANP news agency, is the place where voters can go first. However, the office is only open during rush hour: from 06:00 to 09:00 and from 16:00 to 20:00. On Monday, twelve NS stations will have such a mobile polling station; Wednesday it will be forty.
In total, voters will be able to drop their ballots at 1,700 polling stations on Monday and 8,800 polling stations on Wednesday. According to ANP, 2,871 parties in 334 municipalities are participating in the elections. It concerns more than a thousand local parties; the others are affiliated with one of the national parties. A total of 54,994 candidates compete for 8,235 council seats.
This article is also part of our live blog: The first polling station is open, Harderwijk has the scoop