Student parties hold steady; GroenLinks-PvdA largest in student cities

In most student cities, GroenLinks-PvdA remains the largest party after the municipal council elections. The five student parties have only lost a seat in Utrecht.

The provisional results of the municipal elections are known for all municipalities, including Amsterdam. Local parties are often the winners, but not in the major cities.

It is striking that Forum voor Democratie has won seats in many municipalities. The party is also gaining a foothold in student cities, although it usually amounts to one or two seats. Only in Enschede (three) and Eindhoven (four) are there more.

But GroenLinks-PvdA is often the largest. Previously these were two parties, but in most municipalities they have – as in the House of Representatives – merged. Amsterdam is one of the exceptions.

Student parties

In several cities, student parties also took part. The largest (STIP) is in Delft and once again has six seats. These parties are also holding their ground in Groningen (3) and Leiden (2). In Maastricht, the student party M:OED still holds one seat on the council.

There was, however, also a loser among the student parties. The Utrecht party Student & Starter is giving up one of its two seats. Connect Wageningen no longer quite fits the list since the party has merged with Volt, but it goes from two to one seat.

Rotterdam

In Rotterdam, GroenLinks-PvdA and Leefbaar Rotterdam both win eleven seats, followed by D66 and the VVD with five seats each. Denk gains four, Forum voor Democratie two. Seven parties win one seat: CDA, Partij voor de Dieren, Volt, 50Plus, the SP, ChristenUnie and Bij1. The new Rotterdam youth party Next did not win enough votes for a seat.

Other cities

n the capital Amsterdam, GroenLinks wins two seats. The PvdA, on the other hand, loses two. They now have ten and seven respectively. Together, the left-wing parties remain by far the largest. D66 (8) and VVD (6) each gain one seat.

In the left-wing stronghold of Nijmegen, GroenLinks has gained two seats. The party now holds 11 seats. The PvdA is also still a separate party there with four seats. Together they have more than twice as many seats as D66, which rises from six to seven. The Stadspartij Nijmegen, by contrast, loses a seat and drops to six.

In Maastricht, too, GroenLinks and the PvdA remain two separate camps, with four and three seats respectively – seven in total. But the winners there are D66 and CDA, both of which jump from four to six seats.

GroenLinks-PvdA remains by far the largest in Wageningen with ten seats. That is two fewer than in the previous election. Notably, the Partij voor de Dieren enters the council there with two seats. The party always keeps a close eye on animal testing at the university.

The light city of Eindhoven is seeing a rise of CDA and D66, but GroenLinks-PvdA (13) still comfortably tops the list and loses only one seat. Local parties have yet to gain a foothold here, but FvD (4) has.

In Enschede, GroenLinks-PvdA is level this time with the local party Burgerbelangen Enschede, which loses two seats. They now both have eight seats. FvD is also notable with three seats.

Student party STIP is no longer in joint first place in Delft. It won six seats again, but has been overtaken by D66 (from 6 to 7 seats). GroenLinks also had six, but has merged with the PvdA and now holds nine seats.

In Leiden, GroenLinks-PvdA had to give up two seats, but with twelve seats it remains the largest party. D66 and the local party Sleutelstad follow with six seats each. The latter grew by three seats. Studenten voor Leiden has, as before, two seats.

In the far north, in the student city of Groningen, GroenLinks-PvdA also had to give up two seats, but here too it remains the largest party with thirteen seats. D66 managed to win six this year, and the Partij voor de Dieren and the VVD four each. Student en Stad has three, just as in 2022.

In Tilburg, GroenLinks-PvdA had to compete with the local party Lijst Smolders Tilburg. Both parties won eight seats. They were closely followed by the VVD with seven seats and D66 with six.

In The Hague, the local party Hart voor Den Haag/De Mos emerged as the big winner with sixteen seats – seven more than in 2022. D66 follows at a distance with eight seats and GroenLinks-PvdA with seven.

In Breda, the VVD and GroenLinks-PvdA each lose a seat, but remain number one and two. CDA and Breda Beslist are on the rise.

GroenLinks-PvdA also remains the largest party in Utrecht with fourteen seats. It is followed by D66 with nine seats and the VVD with five. The local party Student & Starter had to give up one seat and is left with one.