Turnout: 56.16%
About this election
The 2019 Dutch provincial elections, held on 20 March 2019, were a political earthquake: the brand-new radical-right Forum for Democracy (FvD), led by Thierry Baudet, came from nowhere to finish as the largest party nationally, ahead of every established force. As in every provincial election, the result reset the composition of the twelve Provincial Councils and, through them, the Senate — dealing a serious blow to Mark Rutte's third cabinet.
The twelve provinces each elect their council by proportional representation, and the councillors in turn elect the Senate (Eerste Kamer). The 2019 contest was the first provincial election since Forum for Democracy had entered the House of Representatives in 2017, and the party treated it as a national breakthrough opportunity. Because Senate seats are apportioned from the provincial results, the stakes for the governing coalition's ability to pass laws were high.
The campaign was overshadowed by a terrorist attack three days before polling day, when a gunman opened fire on a tram in Utrecht, killing four people; campaigning was briefly suspended. Baudet ran a flamboyant, culture-war campaign attacking immigration, the "climate agenda" and what he called the cultural decline of the West, closing with a much-discussed victory speech. The governing parties, meanwhile, were defending an unpopular climate policy and the abolition of a dividend tax.
Forum for Democracy won 14.53% and 86 provincial seats at its very first provincial election, narrowly ahead of the VVD on 13.99% and 80. The CDA took 11.07%, GroenLinks surged to 10.76% on the back of climate concern, and the Labour Party stabilised at 8.52%. The combined governing parties (VVD, CDA, D66 and Christian Union) lost their Senate majority. FvD's rise came largely at the expense of the PVV, which fell to 6.94%, as the two competed for the same nationalist electorate.
Turnout rose sharply to 56.16%, reflecting the charged national mood. Forum for Democracy led the vote in three provinces — Flevoland, North Holland and South Holland — performing strongly across the Randstad. The CDA topped the rural and southern provinces (Friesland, Overijssel, Zeeland and Limburg), the VVD led in Gelderland and North Brabant, GreenLeft came first in Groningen and Utrecht, and the Labour Party narrowly led in Drenthe. The map above shows the largest party in each province; click any province for the full breakdown.
In the subsequent Senate election the Rutte III coalition was reduced to a minority, again forcing it to seek opposition support to pass legislation. Forum for Democracy's triumph proved fragile: within a year the party was convulsed by internal rows and splits — leading to the founding of JA21 — and much of its 2019 support drained away well before the 2023 provincial vote.
Official results from the Electoral Council (Kiesraad) — verkiezingsuitslagen.nl. The provincial map is built from the Kiesraad's per-province figures.
Compiled and reviewed by Bartłomiej Paruzel, Election Data Analyst, from official results. See our data methodology.