Polling stations across the Netherlands are now open for Wednesday’s local elections, in which some 62,000 candidates are competing for around 8,500 seats across 340 of the country’s 342 local councils.
In some locations, voting began at midnight on March 18th, including at railway stations, a snack bar in Kampen, and in The Hague, where a celebration was held on the Grote Markt.
In Amsterdam, 35 parties are competing for one of the 45 seats on the city council, while in three specific areas–—Hilvarenbeek, Rozendaal, and the Wadden Sea island of Schiermonnikoog—only three parties are taking part.
The liberal D66 has topped the list in terms of advertising spend, having shelled out over €1.3 million to attract voters, according to a research made by politiekereclame.nl.
Parties are now required by law to make their advertising budgets public. Following D66 on the expenditure list are the Amsterdam branches of the center-right VVD, the social-democratic PvdA, and the green party GroenLinks.
