The people of the Netherlands have already started to head out and cast their votes for the parties they want to become the new government of the Netherlands for the next four years. Here’s the run-down on where things go from now!

When does voting stop in the Netherlands?

Voting stops at 9pm in the Netherlands, so all people wishing to cast their vote must have visited their polling station (stembureau) by then, or have had someone else do it for them. 

At 9pm, once the polling stations are closed, public broadcaster NOS will announce the results of their exit poll, where we can get the first indications of how people voted throughout the day, given the answers that NOS have received. 

How long will it take to count the votes?

Since around 13,3 million people are eligible to vote in this Dutch election, it will take some time to count and announce the votes. It is expected that the votes will all be counted by some time on November 23. 

Throughout the late evening and into the night on November 22, many party leaders will respond to how the votes are going, and may even start to collaborate on proposed coalition groups. Traditionally, the largest party will take the lead in this, and though discussions will begin on election night, coalitions often take many months to form. 

When will we know who has won?

In short: it will take some time. Nobody has outright won an election with a majority in the Netherlands since 1894, and this time is likely to be no different. 

We will likely know the party with the most parliamentary seats by the morning of November 23 but will have to wait a little longer to find out who will form a governing coalition for the next four years. To give some idea as to how long this might take: last time it took 273 days…