Early general elections were held in the Netherlands on 22 November 2023 to elect the members of the House of Representatives. The elections had been expected to be held in 2025, but a snap election was called after the fourth Rutte cabinet collapsed on 7 July 2023 due to disagreements on immigration policy between the coalition parties. The incumbent Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced that he would not lead his party into the election and that he would retire from politics.

In what was described as "one of the biggest political upsets in Dutch politics since World War II", the right-wing populist Party for Freedom (PVV), led by Geert Wilders, won 37 seats in the 150-seat House of Representatives, becoming the largest party for the first time. All four parties of the incumbent coalition government suffered losses.

After the election, a cabinet formation began to determine which parties would form the next government. Subsequently on 16 May 2024, a coalition agreement was settled upon by PVV, VVD, NSC and BBB. Immigration policy was heavily prioritised on the incoming government's agenda, as coalition representatives stated they would embrace the "strictest" asylum policy. Numerous reforms were also expected across areas such as welfare and health, as emphasised by NSC leader Pieter Omtzigt during the election campaign, similar to addressing issues having surfaced in the aftermath of the Dutch childcare benefits scandal. Several observers have described the new government as the most right-wing in recent history.

Following further negotiation amongst parties, Dick Schoof, an intelligence director, was then nominated for Prime Minister. Shortly afterwards, all participating parties agreed to the nomination. He then became Prime Minister in a new cabinet formation over a month later on 2 July after being formally appointed by the King.

Background The 2021 general elections resulted in the formation of the fourth Rutte cabinet, consisting of a coalition of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), Democrats 66 (D66), Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) and the Christian Union (CU). Mark Rutte, leader of VVD, continued in his role as prime minister.

After 2019, the government had the intention to limit the human impact on the nitrogen cycle. However, its nitrogen bill met resistance from several opposition parties, including the Farmer–Citizen Movement (BBB), which was founded in 2019 and entered the House of Representatives after winning one seat in the 2021 elections. Its popularity grew quickly, and the BBB emerged as the largest party in the 2023 provincial elections, which also saw heavy losses for the ruling coalition. As the provincial councils indirectly elect the Senate, it meant that the ruling coalition would face more difficulty passing legislation.

The government resigned on 7 July 2023 after the four parties failed to agree on a proposed limitation of family reunification for refugees fleeing armed conflict. The coalition government led by Mark Rutte collapsed ahead of the anticipated November elections due to irreconcilable disagreements on migration issues. The dispute arose from Rutte's proposal to tighten restrictions on the reunification of asylum seekers' families, aiming to reduce the number of migrants following a previous scandal involving overcrowded migration centers. CDA supported Rutte's proposal, while the opposition of CU and D66 led to a breakdown in negotiations. The parties decided unanimously that they could not remain together in the coalition. The king asked that the prime minister and his government continue to carry out their duties in a caretaker capacity. This could have been seen as a move by Rutte to keep migration on the center stage as his party was disunited on his nitrogen policies.

Leadership changes On 10 July 2023, Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced he would not run again as lead candidate for the VVD, and would leave politics when a new cabinet was sworn in. Other party leaders and parliamentary leaders also announced they would not return, including Sigrid Kaag (D66), Wopke Hoekstra, Pieter Heerma (both CDA), Attje Kuiken (PvdA), Kees van der Staaij (SGP), Farid Azarkan (Denk), Liane den Haan (independent), Nilüfer Gündoğan (independent), and Sylvana Simons (BIJ1). Jesse Klaver announced that, although he wanted to continue as member of parliament, he would not be candidate for leader of the Labour Party–GroenLinks alliance. Additionally, Vera Bergkamp, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, did not stand for reelection.

Electoral system

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 open list 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%. 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.

Political parties and lead candidates

+Parties on the ballot ListPartyMain ideologyLead candidate2021 resultDistricts 1People's Party for Freedom and DemocracyLiberal conservatism21.87% (34 seats)20 2Democrats 66Social liberalism15.02% (24 seats)20 3Social democracy, green politics10.88% (17 seats)20 4Party for FreedomNationalism, right-wing populism10.79% (17 seats)20 5Christian Democratic AppealChristian democracy, conservatism9.50% (15 seats)20 6Socialist PartyDemocratic socialism, left-wing populism5.98% (9 seats)20 7Forum for DemocracyNational conservatism, right-wing populism5.02% (8 seats)20 8Party for the AnimalsEnvironmentalism, Animal rights advocacyEsther Ouwehand3.84% (6 seats)20 9Christian UnionChristian democracyMirjam Bikker3.37% (5 seats)20 10Volt NetherlandsEurofederalism2.42% (3 seats)20 11JA21Conservative liberalism, right-wing populism2.37% (3 seats)20 12Reformed Political PartyChristian right2.07% (3 seats) 20 13DenkDenkMinority interests2.03% (3 seats) 20 1450PLUSPensioners' interests1.02% (1 seat) 20 15Farmer–Citizen MovementAgrarianism1.00% (1 seat)20 16BIJ1Anti-racism 0.84% (1 seat)20 17Pirate politics, green politics0.22% (0 seats)20 18Interest of the NetherlandsRight-wing populism, conservative liberalism—20 19New Social ContractChristian democracy—20 20SplinterAnti-identity politics0.29% (0 seats)20 21Libertarian PartyLibertarianism0.05% (0 seats)19 22LEF – For the New GenerationYouth politics— 19 23Together for the Netherlands Right-wing populism— 19 24Netherlands with a Plan Participatory democracy— 17 25Party for SportsHealth promotion— 11 26Political Party for Basic IncomeUniversal basic income advocacy — 8

Campaign Debates + 2023 Dutch general election debates Date Organisers Channel Venue Present   Invited   Not invited   Absent   !!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!22 OctoberCollege TourNPO 3Vrije Universiteit, AmsterdamNINININININININIPNINIPNIPNINIP30 OctoberGL/PvdA, NSCYouTubeLuxor Live, ArnhemNINININININININIPNINIPNININININI3 NovemberNOSNPO Radio 1Nieuwspoort, The HaguePPPPPPPPAPPPPPPPP5 NovemberRTL NieuwsRTL 4Felix Meritis, AmsterdamNINININININININIPNINIPNINININIP12 NovemberNININININIPPNIAPNIANIPNIPP16 NovemberTalpa TVSBS6Media Park, HilversumNINININININININIPNINIPNININIPP17 NovemberND VerkiezingsdebatYouTubeDe Basiliek, VeenendaalNIPPNININININININIPNINININININI17 NovemberSP, NSCYouTubeUnknownNINININININIPNIPNINININININININI17 NovemberEenVandaagNPO 1Media Park, HilversumNIPPNININIPNINININININININININI18 NovemberNININIPPNININININININIPNINININI18 NovemberOmroep Brabant, Omroep Zeeland, L1Evoluon, Eindhoven NINIPNINIPPNIAPNIANIPNIPP19 NovemberJeugdjournaalNPO 3Media Park, HilversumNINIPNINIPNINIANINIPNIPNIPP20 NovemberEenVandaagNPO 1Ahoy, RotterdamNININININIPNINIPNINIPNIPNIPP 21 NovemberNOSB67, The HaguePPNIPPNINIPNINIPNIPNIPNINININIPNINIPPNIPPNIPNIPNIPP

NOS op 3 debates In addition to the conventional debates, a series of debates between two or three party leaders were hosted by news program NOS op 3. The debates are broadcast through the programme's media outlets, such as radio and YouTube. The debates were broadcast in real-time and were held with a select group of young people present, who, in addition to the viewers on the YouTube live stream, asked the candidates various questions.

30 October: Mirjam Bikker (CU) and Esther Ouwehand (PvdD) 31 October: Pieter Omtzigt (NSC) and Frans Timmermans (GL/PvdA) 1 November: Thierry Baudet (FvD) and Rob Jetten (D66) 2 November: Caroline van der Plas (BBB) and Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius (VVD) 3 November: Laurens Dassen (Volt), Edson Olf (BIJ1) and Chris Stoffer (SGP) 4 November: Henri Bontenbal (CDA) and Lilian Marijnissen (SP) 5 November: Joost Eerdmans (JA21), Stephan van Baarle (Denk) and Wybren van Haga (BVNL)

Assaults and attacks on Thierry Baudet Thierry Baudet, founder and leader of the far-right Forum for Democracy (FvD) was attacked with an umbrella upon his arrival at Ghent University on 26 October 2023, resulting in a mild concussion.

On 20 November, Baudet was beaten with a beer bottle at a campaign event in Groningen, and was later hospitalised. Numerous politicians denounced the attack, with Mark Rutte stating that the attack was "totally unacceptable". The far-left group AFA Noord claimed responsibility for the attack.

Opinion polls

The Farmer–Citizen Movement (BBB) established a lead in the polls following its victory in the 2023 Dutch provincial elections, but started to decline in May 2023, and further declined when Pieter Omtzigt announced he would contest the election with his newly established party New Social Contract (NSC), which immediately performed well in the polls at the expense of BBB. In the last polls before the election, NSC declined because it was unclear whether Pieter Omtzigt was willing to serve as prime minister should his party win the election. Their voters mostly diverted to VVD and PVV.

Results

Geert Wilders' PVV won 37 seats of the 150-seat parliament, more than doubling their seats from the previous election in 2021. The left-leaning GroenLinks–PvdA (GL-PvdA) finished second with 25 seats. The VVD party ended third with 24 seats. NSC came fourth with 20 seats.

By province + Results by province Province PVV GL-PvdA VVD NSC D66 BBB CDA SP Denk FvD PvdD SGP CU Volt JA21 Others 26.0 14.0 12.6 16.0 4.5 8.8 3.7 3.3 0.5 2.3 1.8 0.8 2.6 1.0 0.6 0.8 26.6 11.8 14.8 12.2 4.5 5.2 2.5 3.2 3.3 3.3 1.9 3.8 2.6 1.1 0.7 2.6 24.5 14.6 11.2 16.3 4.3 8.3 5.3 3.4 0.4 2.7 1.8 1.0 2.7 0.9 0.7 1.7 22.2 15.4 14.4 13.2 5.9 6.2 3.6 2.9 1.4 2.0 2.2 4.1 2.8 1.5 0.6 1.5 21.8 20.2 9.9 14.6 5.7 6.1 3.0 4.5 0.8 2.3 2.7 0.9 3.4 1.9 0.6 1.7 33.3 13.5 13.8 14.1 4.8 4.4 3.4 3.7 1.2 2.3 1.7 0.1 0.3 1.0 0.6 1.7 26.9 13.1 18.1 12.7 6.6 4.4 3.5 4.1 1.8 1.9 1.8 0.4 0.6 1.6 0.7 1.7 19.8 20.7 17.1 10.1 7.9 3.2 2.3 3.1 3.4 2.5 3.1 0.3 1.0 2.3 0.7 2.8 22.0 11.6 11.1 21.9 4.3 8.5 3.5 2.4 1.4 2.1 1.5 3.0 3.4 1.3 0.6 1.1 23.8 14.7 16.0 10.9 6.4 2.6 3.3 2.7 4.1 2.4 2.3 3.1 2.4 1.8 0.8 1.9 17.6 20.5 16.2 10.5 8.4 2.8 3.4 2.3 3.1 1.8 2.8 2.8 3.0 2.6 0.6 1.6 23.9 11.1 14.7 12.1 4.1 5.9 4.3 3.1 0.8 2.5 1.8 9.7 2.9 0.7 0.7 1.7 10.9 13.8 10.7 8.2 26.2 5.0 1.6 1.5 0.4 2.3 2.2 0.4 11.7 1.4 0.3 3.5Postal voters abroad 6.3 28.6 17.4 12.1 10.5 3.2 1.9 1.9 0.3 3.3 4.0 0.7 1.6 5.2 0.8 2.2 Maps

Aftermath

Political analysis