Kingdom of the Netherlands: Second Chamber, 15 March 2017

At stake in this election:

• 150 seats in the Second Chamber (Tweede Kamer)

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State:  King Willem ALEXANDER
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Mark RUTTE **
• Assembly: Netherlands has a bicameral States General (Staten Generaal) consisting of the First Chamber (Eerste Kamer) with 75 seats and the Second Chamber (Tweede Kamer) with 150 seats.

** The leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition usually appointed prime minister by the monarch.

Description of electoral system:

• The King is hereditary head of state.
• Prime Minister is appointed by the monarch.
• In the First Chamber (Eerste Kamer) 75 members are indirectly elected through a flexible-list proportional representation system to serve 4-year terms*. In the Second Chamber (Tweede Kamer) 150 members are elected through a flexible-list proportional representation system to serve 4-year terms.**

* Voting is by members of the country's 12 Provincial Councils. The value of each vote is weighted according to the population of the respective province. This is in order to account for any malapportionment of seats to Provincial Councils. There is one national district and no formal threshold. Voters must cast preference votes. List order does not change unless a candidate has achieved 50 percent of one quota, which is defined as a list's vote share divided by its seat share.

** There is one national district and no formal threshold. Voters must cast preference votes. List order does not change unless a candidate has achieved 25 percent of one quota, which is defined as a list's vote share divided by its seat share.

Last Election:

• The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and the Labour Party (PvdA) won 41 and 38 seats respectively. The leader of the majority party, Mark RUTTE, was appointed prime minister

Main candidates in the election:

• People's Party for Freedom and Democracy / Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie (VVD)
  • Leader: Mark RUTTE
  • Seats won in last election: 41
• Labour Party / Partij van de Arbeid (PvdA)
  • Leader: Lodewijk ASSCHER
  • Seats won in last election:  38
• Party for Freedom / Partij voor de Vrijheid (PVV)
  • Leader: Geert WILDERS
  • Seats won in last election:  15
• Socialist Party / Socialistische Partij (SP)
  • Leader: Emile ROEMER
  • Seats won in last election:  15
• Christian Democratic Appeal / Christen-Democratisch Appèl (CDA)
  • Leader: Sybrand VAN HAERSMA BUMA
  • Seats won in last election: 13
• Democrats 66 / Democraten 66 (D66)
  • Leader: Alexander PECHTOLD
  • Seats won in last election:  12
• Christian Union / ChristenUnie (CU)
  • Leader: Gert-Jan SEGERS
  • Seats won in last election:  5
• Green-Left / GroenLinks (GL)
  • Leader: Jesse KLAVER
  • Seats won in last election:  4
• Reformed Political Party / Staatkundig Gereformeerde Partij (SGP)
  • Leader: Kees VAN DE STAAJI
  • Seats won in last election:  3
• Party for the Animals / Partij voor de Dieren (PvdD)
  • Leader: Marianne THIEME
  • Seats won in last election:  2
• 50PLUS
  • Leader: Henk KROL
  • Seats won in last election:  2

*17 additional parties have registered candidacy with the Electoral Commission who did not win any seats in the 2012 elections.

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population:  17,100,814 (2017)
• Registered Voters:  12,689,810 (2012)

Gender Data:

• Female Population:  8,561,985 (2016)
• Is the Netherlands a signatory to CEDAW:  Yes (17 July 1980)
• Has the Netherlands ratified CEDAW:  Yes (23 July 1991)
• Gender Quota:  No
• Female candidates in this election:  Yes
• Number of Female Parliamentarians:  57 (Second Chamber-2012)
• Human Development Index Position:  5 (2014)
• Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization:  N/A

Disability Data:

• Is the Netherlands a signatory to CRPD:  Yes (30 March 2007)
• Has the Netherlands ratified CRPD:  Yes (14 June 2016)
• Population with a disability:  2,542,186