In Delft, Studenten Techniek in Politiek (STIP) has a provisional 15.8 percent of the votes and has therefore won the elections. However, this is not entirely reflected in the number of seats: STIP, D66 and GroenLinks all ended up with six seats. 

“This is incredible”, STIP group chair Ida de Boer told Omroep West. “I’m really proud that we got the most votes. We’re going to have a big impact in the years ahead.” STIP is already in the coalition. 

First time 

In Leiden, Studenten voor Leiden got two seats on the council. It was the first time that the party took part, putting the focus on housing, sustainability and the hospitality industry. That was partly at the expense of D66, which is no longer the biggest party there. GroenLinks has the most seats in Leiden. 

The Groningen party Student en Stad improved from one seat to three. It probably won those seats from GroenLinks. That party lost two seats but remains the biggest party there. 

Student en Starter (Utrecht) retained its two seats, as did Wageningen Connect, a party for students, young people, expats and newcomers, with a student heading the list.  

GroenLinks 

Overall, GroenLinks is the biggest party in most student cities, namely in Eindhoven, Groningen, Leiden, Nijmegen, Tilburg, Utrecht and Wageningen.  

One notable development is the major advance made by the PvdA in Amsterdam, climbing from five seats to nine and overtaking GroenLinks, which declined from ten to eight seats. In Rotterdam, Leefbaar remains the biggest party. The Senioren Party won in Maastricht and Burger Belangen ended in the top spot in Enschede. 

Higher professional education cities 

The pattern is the same in many cities without a university but with a substantial number of higher professional education students. GroenLinks and ChristenUnie share top position in Zwolle. GroenLinks is also number one in Arnhem and number two in Leeuwarden (behind PvdA, which lost seats).  

But the VVD is the biggest part in Breda and Apeldoorn. In Den Bosch, D66 has taken over from the VVD as the biggest party. In Deventer, the local party Gemeentebelang won by a considerable margin. 

The turnout was an all-time low: around 50 percent. In Rotterdam, only 39 percent of those entitled to vote actually did so. Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations Hanke Bruins Slot has announced an enquiry into the cause.