Early elections for the Dutch parliament are set for October 29. This was reported by TASS, citing a statement from the acting Minister of the Interior of the Kingdom, Judith Uitermark.
“It is simply impossible to hold elections faster than October 29,” the Algemeen Dagblad newspaper quoted her as saying. Uitermark also noted that the Electoral Council considered “many factors” when determining this date.
According to the Association of Dutch Municipalities, organizing and holding the elections will cost approximately 105 million euros, based on preliminary estimates.
On June 4, the Electoral Council recommended scheduling the vote for October 29.
On June 3, Geert Wilders, leader of the Party for Freedom, announced his withdrawal from the ruling coalition due to a lack of support for his proposed plan to tighten the Netherlands’ migration policy. The withdrawal of the Party for Freedom, which had won the most seats in the previous parliamentary elections, led to the collapse of the ruling coalition and a government crisis. Prime Minister Dick Schoof later announced the resignation of the cabinet. King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands accepted the resignation of the Party for Freedom’s ministers but asked the prime minister and the other ministers to continue working until a new government was formed.
