The 2026 Municipal Elections as an International

by Rae Novotny

This past Thursday at our Annual General Meeting we were delighted to welcome Chaitali Sengupta and Supriya Vij as guest speakers on an important and imminent civic event: voting in the Netherlands. Specifically: the who and how of Dutch elections, the voting eligibility of non-Dutch residents, and why our vote is increasingly significant.

Who is eligible?

Municipal elections are open to Dutch citizens or non-Dutch residents who have lived in the Netherlands for at least five years. The next election is approaching swiftly on 18 March, and there are a few things you should know if you plan to vote.

If you’re eligible and registered with a municipality, you should receive a stempas (voting pass) in the mail within two weeks of the election. This is an essential document and must be taken to the polling station along with a valid form of ID. If you lost your voting pass or never received it, you can request a new one from your municipality. Some of the municipalities are listed below, but searching "Gemeenteraadsverkiezing 2026 (your gemeente)" will take you to the site. Your stempas will indicate which polling station is expecting you.

A Quick Look at Dutch Municipal Structure

The municipal government consists of a burgermeester (mayor), raadsleden (councillors), and wethouders (aldermen). In the Netherlands, residents vote neither for mayors nor aldermen. The mayor is appointed to a six-year term by the King, based on the recommendation of the council. Aldermen are appointed by the city council. The people can vote for the councillors, who each serve a four year term. For both aldermen and councillors, the number of officials depends on the gemeente’s population size; this year, Eindhoven has 45 councillors. Chaitali graciously shared her presentation with us that goes into depth about the Dutch municipal structure.

Chaitali introduced us to Stemwijzer, a tool to help people determine which political party they most align with. Another party alignment tool is provided by Kieskompas, a research agency that focuses on mapping political and societal opinions. Both Kieskompas and Stemwijzer’s voting questionnaires were built using the election programs and the different parties’ responses to statements. The Stemchecker, by de Volkskrant, provides similar insights from recent policy positions in the Tweede Kamer (House of Representatives).

Why Vote?

Why vote in the municipal elections? The municipality is responsible for urban planning, safety, traffic, infrastructure, social welfare, education - all of the things that we are impacted by on a day-to-day basis. This year more political parties have made an effort to reach out to the internationals living in and around Eindhoven, and for good reason. In recent years the city has surged to over a quarter of a million people, owed in no small part to non-Dutch residents. As a voting block, internationals have a growing ability to influence decisions made from the local council upward.

Connecting Cultures

Supriya also introduced us to Connecting Cultures. The organization works to promote integration and create more connected and stronger communities that value cultural diversity. Connecting Cultures has had ten meet ups so far, from Acht to Meerhoven, with their eleventh planned at STE Languages on Wednesday, 25 February at 19:30. You can learn more about the meet up and register here.