ROTTERDAM, 20 January 2026 – A total of 910 Rotterdammers have signed up to stand in the district and village council elections (wijk- en dorpsraadsverkiezingen) on 18 March. The city says there are now enough registrations to form a district or village council in every area of Rotterdam.
These councils are meant to bring neighbourhood priorities closer to City Hall, so topics that feel very local, like public space, liveability, and day-to-day issues in your area, can be discussed and pushed forward through a formal local body. The alderman for neighbourhoods (wijkenwethouder), Robert Simons, welcomed the high number of candidates and framed it as a sign that Rotterdammers want to take responsibility for their neighbourhoods.
Rotterdam, Hoek van Holland and Rozenburg get a full candidate field
The 910 registrations are split evenly between people running independently and people running via a group or political party. The municipality says that is enough to form councils across all areas, including the village councils (dorpsraden) in Hoek van Holland and Rozenburg, as well as the district councils (wijkraden) across the rest of the city.
Candidate registration opened on 1 December and closed on Monday at exactly 15:00, with the full process taking place digitally for the first time. For context, the previous district and village council elections in 2022 drew 620 sign-ups, and 57% of those candidates ran without a party or organisation label.
Rotterdam lists are checked before the 18 March vote
Over the coming days, the municipality will check every registration for completeness and correctness. The Central Electoral Committee (Centraal Stembureau) is scheduled to decide on the validity of the registrations on 23 January, and the order of the candidate lists on the ballot will be drawn on 30 January. After that draw, the final list of candidates is confirmed.
If you want to follow the official information as it develops, the city points you to its district and village council page at www.rotterdam.nl/wijkraden and its elections hub at www.rotterdam.nl/verkiezingen.
