Netherlands Advisory referendum 2016 — Results
Election day: April 6, 2016
- No: 61.00%
- Yes: 38.21%
Turnout: 32.28%
About this election
The referendum system
The 2015 Advisory Referendum Act allowed citizens to trigger a non-binding, consultative referendum on most newly adopted laws if 300,000 valid signatures were collected. For the result to be valid — that is, for the government to be formally obliged to reconsider — turnout had to reach at least 30% of the electorate. The referendum was advisory only: parliament and government retained the final say, but a clear "no" on a high enough turnout was politically difficult to ignore.
Compiled and reviewed from official results by ElectioMap. See our data methodology.
In numbers
- 22.79 points separated No from Yes — 937,521 votes.
- Turnout of 32.28% is the lowest of the 2 advisory referendums covered here since 2016.
Calculated from the official figures on this page and from the other elections of this type in our archive.
Understanding this election
- When a Referendum Wins and Still Fails — how a turnout quorum voids a referendum that won the vote
- Why Turnout Figures Disagree — why two sources publish different turnout for one election
- What Is Voter Turnout and Why Does It Matter? — how turnout is measured, and whether it changes who wins