ROTTERDAM, 6 February 2026 – The candidate lists for the Rotterdam municipal council elections 2026 (gemeenteraadsverkiezingen) are now official, with 21 political parties on the ballot. You will be able to vote on Wednesday 18 March 2026, and Rotterdam’s Central Electoral Committee (Centraal Stembureau) has confirmed and numbered every list.
Rotterdam’s Central Electoral Committee has formally adopted the full set of candidate lists, so you can already see which parties and candidates you will be choosing from on election day.
What “candidate lists confirmed” means
In practice, this is the administrative milestone that locks in the ballot: the lists are validated, numbered, and published in an official record (proces-verbaal). If you like to read the original document yourself, you can find it via Rotterdam’s elections page.
Key dates for voting in Rotterdam
The vote takes place on Wednesday 18 March 2026. Rotterdam’s elections page brings together the practical basics (including how voting works and what to do if you cannot vote in person). Your voting pass (stempas) is expected to arrive by post from 25 February. If you want to plan where you will vote, the city’s polling station site (stembureaus) is the place to start, and it will point you to current lists and accessibility information as they are published.
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The 21 parties on the ballot
Below are the list numbers as confirmed for Rotterdam:
| List number | Party |
|---|---|
| 1 | Leefbaar Rotterdam |
| 2 | GROENLINKS / Partij van de Arbeid (PvdA) |
| 3 | VVD |
| 4 | D66 |
| 5 | DENK |
| 6 | Volt |
| 7 | Partij voor de Dieren |
| 8 | BIJ1 |
| 9 | 50PLUS |
| 10 | ChristenUnie |
| 11 | SP (Socialistische Partij) |
| 12 | CDA |
| 13 | Forum voor Democratie |
| 14 | PARTIJvdSPORT |
| 15 | Vrede voor Dieren |
| 16 | (PBAR) Beweging Armoedebestrijding |
| 17 | JOU, Lijst Verkoelen |
| 18 | Rotterdam NEXT |
| 19 | Staatkundig Gereformeerde Partij (SGP) |
| 20 | Wij Kleurrijk Rotterdam |
| 21 | Wij van de Wijk |
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Where to find your polling station
If you already know your neighbourhood and want to map it out, the polling station website lets you search by street or postcode, including via a map view. It is the quickest route to finding a nearby polling station (stembureau) once the full overview is live.
If you cannot go yourself, Rotterdam also explains how an authorisation vote (volmacht) works, so someone you trust can vote on your behalf.
What happens between now and 18 March
Now that the candidate lists are final, the next phase is all about practical preparation: receiving your voting pass, choosing where to vote, and checking any special arrangements you might need. The national elections calendar also confirms 18 March 2026 as the municipal elections date across the Netherlands, including Rotterdam.
Rotterdam’s main elections page is the most reliable hub for updates in the run-up to the vote, including wider information that sits alongside the council election in the city.
