From vote to seat: how the House of Representatives is elected

From polling station to national result

After the polls close, votes are counted by hand. Municipalities can count candidate votes centrally or locally. The municipal electoral committee establishes the municipal totals. The results reach the Electoral Council (Kiesraad), the central electoral committee for this election, through the principal electoral committees. The Electoral Council checks the counts and establishes the result at a public meeting.

Electoral quota, remainder seats and preference votes

The electoral quota is the total number of valid candidate votes divided by 150. Each list first receives the number of full seats for which it has sufficient votes. The remaining seats are allocated using the highest averages method. In House of Representatives elections, only lists that have reached the electoral quota qualify for remainder seats.

Within a list’s allocated seats, candidates with enough preference votes can take priority. The preference threshold is 25 per cent of the electoral quota. The order on the list then plays a role. Reaching the preference threshold therefore does not create an extra parliamentary seat independently of the allocation of seats between lists.

Use the tour to explain the process

Start the route and pause at the counting, seat allocation and selection of representatives. In a briefing, let each step answer its own question: which totals are added together, which calculation rule allocates seats and which rule determines the elected candidates? Open the source at that step for the full procedure.

Election result and cabinet formation

After the election, parties negotiate a new cabinet. Voters do not elect the prime minister directly. The last steps of the tour show how the elected House and cabinet relate to one another and how the House scrutinises the executive. Names and portraits come from a separate people register, with its own retrieval date alongside the source.