{"id":5484,"date":"2018-03-20T09:00:42","date_gmt":"2018-03-20T09:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/?p=5484"},"modified":"2018-03-23T16:05:43","modified_gmt":"2018-03-23T16:05:43","slug":"dutch-elections-vote-for-city-officials","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/dutch-elections-vote-for-city-officials\/","title":{"rendered":"Dutch Elections: Vote for City Council"},"content":{"rendered":"

On March 21st, the elections in the Netherlands will be for local officials and the WIV referendum which I wrote about last week<\/a>. But who are the city officials and why should you vote?<\/p>\n

Who can vote?<\/h3>\n

Local elections in the Netherlands take place every four years, and these elections have more eligible voters because\u00a0residents from EU countries and non-EU residents with 5+ years living in the Netherlands can vote.\u00a0In national elections, only Dutch citizens can vote, including those living abroad.<\/p>\n

The last local elections were held in 2014 and only 54% of eligible voters actually voted, an all-time low according to this NOS article<\/a>. This number should be very shocking considering that in last year’s elections, those for the\u00a0tweede kamerverkiezing,\u00a0<\/em>81.9% of eligible voters voted.<\/p>\n

This article from the CBS<\/a> has some very interesting statistics about the ages of eligible voters per city.<\/p>\n

Why should you vote?<\/h3>\n

While it might seem that local elections are unimportant, choosing your city or town council is important because these are the people who make decisions about the things that affect your day-to-day life. Whether you are registering at a particular\u00a0gemeente<\/em>, paying taxes for your dog, or requesting a passport and driver’s license, the decisions made by your\u00a0gemeenteraad<\/em> affect you.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0gemeenteraad<\/em> or town council also make sure there are enough places to practice sports such as football fields and swimming pools. These are also responsible for safety in streets, parking lots, around train stations, among others. If streets need special\u00a0fietspadden\u00a0<\/em>or new pavement, the\u00a0gemeente<\/em> is responsible for these projects. City councils also fund your local library and local language classes and help people with health issues. These also provide the vergunningen\u00a0<\/em>for new constructions, stores, and residential areas.<\/p>\n

Like I said before, the decisions of the\u00a0gemeenteraad<\/em> affect you more directly than those of the\u00a0tweede kamer.<\/em><\/p>\n

Who should you vote for?<\/h3>\n

I am certainly not going to promote any political party, but I do have some suggestions on how you can inform yourself about who is running for\u00a0gemeenteraad<\/em> and what their positions are. If you receive your city’s newspaper or magazine, you can be sure that one of the latest issues has the different political parties with their stand on different general issues. This comparison is quite useful because you can see an overview of all parties all at once. You might also have received several brochures and pamphlets\u00a0at home with some election material. Check what the party’s material says about the issues important to them.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Campaign Posters in Beek, the Netherlands (personal photograph)<\/p><\/div>\n

You can also go to your city’s political poster area, usually in the city center, where all candidates have placed their promo material. This wont tell you much about their stance on different issues, but you can get a good idea of who is running, and from there do your research. The show\u00a0Zondach met Lubach<\/em> has a very funny video about these posters.<\/p>\n