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Provincial elections were held in the Netherlands on Wednesday 2 March 2011. Eligible voters elected the members of the provincial councils in the twelve provinces. These elections also indirectly determined the members of the Senate, since the 566 members of the twelve provincial councils elected the Senate's 75 members in the Senate election on 23 May 2011.

The Senate election, and therefore the provincial elections, were important since the first Rutte cabinet had a minority in the Senate when it took office. The coalition and support parties hoped to gain a majority in the Senate through these elections, but failed to do so, obtaining 37 out of 75 seats. However, it was expected that the Reformed Political Party, which obtained one seat, would support the cabinet.^[1]

On the same date, Island Council elections were held in the three public bodies of the Caribbean Netherlands. It was planned that the members of the Island Councils would also have a vote in the Senate election in the future, but in 2011 this was not yet the case because this required a change in the Constitution.

Results

The right-liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy, left-liberal Democrats 66, and right-wing Party for Freedom made significant gains throughout the provinces. The Labour Party stayed relatively stable, while the Socialist Party suffered losses from their 2007 results. The Christian Democratic Appeal suffered big losses, losing some 65 of their previous 151 provincial seats. However, the party did not fare as poorly as the polls had suggested.

This was the first provincial elections that Geert Wilders' Party for Freedom participated in. The party managed to win seats in all of the Netherlands' provinces with its best results in the southern provinces of North Brabant and Limburg. In Limburg it even managed to become the biggest party by a slim margin.

National results


Party		Seats
Party		2007	2011	+/–
	People's Party for Freedom and Democracy	102	112	+10
	Labour Party	114	107	−7
	Christian Democratic Appeal	151	86	−65
	Party for Freedom	0	69	+69
	Socialist Party	83	56	−27
	Democrats 66	9	42	+33
	GroenLinks	33	34	+1
	Christian Union	35	23	−12
	Reformed Political Party	13	12	−1
	50PLUS	0	9	New
	Party for the Animals	8	7	−1
	Christian Union – Reformed Political Party	3	1	−2
	Frisian National Party	5	4	−1
	Party for Zeeland	2	2	0
	ONH–VSP	1	1	0
	Party for the North	1	1	0
	Party New Limburg	1	0	−1
	Beautiful Utrecht	1	0	−1
	Other parties	2	0	−2
Total		564	566	+2

Due to population growth in Gelderland, the number of seats in the Provincial Council of Gelderland increased from 53 to 55, accounting for the increase in the total number of seats from 564 to 566.

By province

Province	Number of seats per party
Province	VVD	PvdA	CDA	PVV	SP	D66	GL	CU	SGP	50+	PvdD	remaining	total
Groningen	6	12	5	3	6	3	3	3	-	0	1	1^[2]	43
Friesland	6	11	8	4	3	2	2	3	-	0	-	4^[3]	43
Drenthe	9	12	6	4	4	2	2	2	0	0	-	0	41
Overijssel	8	9	11	4	4	3	2	3	2	1	0	0	47
Flevoland	9	6	4	6	3	3	2	3	1	1	1	0	39
Gelderland	11	9	9	6	5	4	4	3	2	1	1	0	55
Utrecht	11	7	6	5	4	5	4	2	1	1	1	0	47
North Holland	13	11	5	6	5	6	5	1		1	1	1^[4]	55
South Holland	12	10	6	8	5	5	3	2	2	1	1	0	55
Zeeland	7	7	6	5	3	2	1	2	4	0	0	2^[5]	39
North Brabant	12	7	10	8	8	5	3	0		1	1	0	55
Limburg	8	6	10	10	6	2	3	0	-	2	0	0	47
Total	112	107	86	69	56	42	34	23	12	9	7	8	566
Total	112	107	86	69	56	42	34	1		9	7	8	566

A "-" in the table means that the relevant party did not submit a list of candidates in the 2011 elections in the province concerned.

Drenthe


Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Labour Party	59,053	26.51	12	−1
	People's Party for Freedom and Democracy	42,255	18.97	9	+1
	Christian Democratic Appeal	32,518	14.60	6	−4
	Party for Freedom	21,920	9.84	4	New
	Socialist Party	21,627	9.71	4	−1
	Democrats 66	13,850	6.22	2	+2
	Christian Union	11,857	5.32	2	−1
	GroenLinks	11,734	5.27	2	0
Other parties		7,920	3.56	0	–
Total		222,734	100.00	41	–

Valid votes		222,734	99.75
Invalid/blank votes		559	0.25
Total votes		223,293	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		380,661	58.66
Source: Kiesraad^[6]

Flevoland


Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	People's Party for Freedom and Democracy	34,038	22.92	9	0
	Labour Party	23,671	15.94	6	−1
	Party for Freedom	22,222	14.96	6	New
	Christian Democratic Appeal	15,740	10.60	4	−4
	Socialist Party	12,904	8.69	3	−3
	Democrats 66	9,755	6.57	3	+3
	Christian Union	8,747	5.89	3	−2
	GroenLinks	8,463	5.70	2	0
	Reformed Political Party	4,875	3.28	1	0
	50PLUS	3,770	2.54	1	New
	Party for the Animals	3,408	2.29	1	0
Other parties		926	0.62	0	–
Total		148,519	100.00	39	–

Valid votes		148,519	99.72
Invalid/blank votes		417	0.28
Total votes		148,936	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		278,039	53.57
Source: Kiesraad^[7]

Friesland


Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Labour Party	70,337	23.66	11	−1
	Christian Democratic Appeal	52,530	17.67	8	−4
	People's Party for Freedom and Democracy	41,088	13.82	6	+1
	Frisian National Party	27,288	9.18	4	−1
	Party for Freedom	25,116	8.45	4	New
	Socialist Party	24,872	8.37	3	−1
	Christian Union	18,901	6.36	3	0
	GroenLinks	15,556	5.23	2	0
	Democrats 66	12,659	4.26	2	+2
Other parties		8,960	3.01	0	–
Total		297,307	100.00	43	–

Valid votes		297,307	99.74
Invalid/blank votes		773	0.26
Total votes		298,080	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		497,367	59.93
Source: Kiesraad^[8]

Gelderland


Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	People's Party for Freedom and Democracy	170,939	19.15	11	+2
	Labour Party	148,023	16.58	9	−1
	Christian Democratic Appeal	144,467	16.18	9	−6
	Party for Freedom	92,563	10.37	6	New
	Socialist Party	87,088	9.75	5	−2
	Democrats 66	71,951	8.06	4	+3
	GroenLinks	55,487	6.21	4	+1
	Christian Union	43,436	4.86	3	−1
	Reformed Political Party	40,604	4.55	2	−1
	50PLUS	17,743	1.99	1	New
	Party for the Animals	16,290	1.82	1	0
Other parties		4,262	0.48	0	–
Total		892,853	100.00	55	+2

Valid votes		892,853	99.75
Invalid/blank votes		2,209	0.25
Total votes		895,062	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		1,528,151	58.57
Source: Kiesraad^[9]

Groningen


Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Labour Party	65,542	24.88	12	0
	People's Party for Freedom and Democracy	34,701	13.17	6	+1
	Socialist Party	33,812	12.83	6	−1
	Christian Democratic Appeal	31,517	11.96	5	−4
	Democrats 66	20,515	7.79	3	+2
	Party for Freedom	20,373	7.73	3	New
	Christian Union	19,999	7.59	3	−1
	GroenLinks	19,040	7.23	3	0
	Party for the North	8,312	3.15	1	0
	Party for the Animals	5,601	2.13	1	0
Other parties		4,056	1.54	0	–
Total		263,468	100.00	43	–

Valid votes		263,468	99.76
Invalid/blank votes		635	0.24
Total votes		264,103	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		453,661	58.22
Source: Kiesraad^[10]

Limburg


Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Party for Freedom	92,488	20.58	10	New
	Christian Democratic Appeal	87,231	19.41	10	−8
	People's Party for Freedom and Democracy	71,884	15.99	8	+1
	Labour Party	60,685	13.50	6	−2
	Socialist Party	53,709	11.95	6	−3
	GroenLinks	24,088	5.36	3	+1
	Democrats 66	23,487	5.23	2	+1
	50PLUS	17,462	3.89	2	New
Other parties		18,431	4.10	0	−2
Total		449,465	100.00	47	–

Valid votes		449,465	99.68
Invalid/blank votes		1,426	0.32
Total votes		450,891	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		872,088	51.70
Source: Kiesraad^[11]

North Brabant


Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	People's Party for Freedom and Democracy	198,870	20.75	12	+1
	Christian Democratic Appeal	166,310	17.35	10	−8
	Party for Freedom	133,760	13.96	8	New
	Socialist Party	132,723	13.85	8	−4
	Labour Party	127,958	13.35	7	−1
	Democrats 66	76,770	8.01	5	+4
	GroenLinks	56,113	5.86	3	+1
	50PLUS	31,554	3.29	1	New
	Party for the Animals	17,320	1.81	1	0
Other parties		16,963	1.77	0	−2
Total		958,341	100.00	55	–

Valid votes		958,341	99.70
Invalid/blank votes		2,866	0.30
Total votes		961,207	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		1,869,067	51.43
Source: Kiesraad^[12]

North Holland


Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	People's Party for Freedom and Democracy	253,195	22.32	13	0
	Labour Party	226,734	19.99	11	0
	Party for Freedom	134,275	11.84	6	New
	Democrats 66	128,600	11.34	6	+4
	Socialist Party	109,027	9.61	5	−4
	Christian Democratic Appeal	100,789	8.89	5	−5
	GroenLinks	90,793	8.01	5	0
	Party for the Animals	28,082	2.48	1	−1
	Elderly Party North Holland	21,354	1.88	1	0
	50PLUS	19,693	1.74	1	New
	Christian Union – Reformed Political Party	19,603	1.73	1	−1
Other parties		2,058	0.18	0	–
Total		1,134,203	100.00	55	–

Valid votes		1,134,203	99.68
Invalid/blank votes		3,693	0.32
Total votes		1,137,896	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		1,987,964	57.24
Source: Kiesraad^[13]

Overijssel


Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Christian Democratic Appeal	105,157	21.37	11	−6
	Labour Party	89,134	18.11	9	0
	People's Party for Freedom and Democracy	77,661	15.78	8	+2
	Party for Freedom	43,760	8.89	4	New
	Socialist Party	42,735	8.68	4	−2
	Democrats 66	36,517	7.42	3	+3
	Christian Union	35,411	7.20	3	−2
	GroenLinks	25,114	5.10	2	0
	Reformed Political Party	16,527	3.36	2	0
	50PLUS	12,826	2.61	1	New
Other parties		7,301	1.48	0	–
Total		492,143	100.00	47	–

Valid votes		492,143	99.76
Invalid/blank votes		1,161	0.24
Total votes		493,304	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		854,623	57.72
Source: Kiesraad^[14]

South Holland


Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	People's Party for Freedom and Democracy	290,260	20.73	12	0
	Labour Party	230,381	16.45	10	0
	Party for Freedom	203,143	14.51	8	New
	Christian Democratic Appeal	158,901	11.35	6	−7
	Socialist Party	131,180	9.37	5	−3
	Democrats 66	123,633	8.83	5	+4
	GroenLinks	76,483	5.46	3	0
	Christian Union	54,866	3.92	2	−2
	Reformed Political Party	53,568	3.83	2	0
	50PLUS	34,914	2.49	1	New
	Party for the Animals	31,910	2.28	1	0
Other parties		10,914	0.78	0	−1
Total		1,400,153	100.00	55	–

Valid votes		1,400,153	99.63
Invalid/blank votes		5,135	0.37
Total votes		1,405,288	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		2,604,363	53.96
Source: Kiesraad^[15]

Utrecht


Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	People's Party for Freedom and Democracy	124,952	22.15	11	+1
	Labour Party	82,721	14.66	7	−1
	Christian Democratic Appeal	68,017	12.06	6	−4
	Democrats 66	60,491	10.72	5	+3
	Party for Freedom	59,988	10.63	5	New
	GroenLinks	51,721	9.17	4	0
	Socialist Party	46,336	8.21	4	−2
	Christian Union	26,856	4.76	2	−2
	Reformed Political Party	16,871	2.99	1	0
	50PLUS	11,562	2.05	1	New
	Party for the Animals	11,386	2.02	1	0
Other parties		3,315	0.59	0	−1
Total		564,216	100.00	47	–

Valid votes		564,216	99.71
Invalid/blank votes		1,636	0.29
Total votes		565,852	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		917,232	61.69
Source: Kiesraad^[16]

Zeeland


Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	People's Party for Freedom and Democracy	28,555	16.83	6	+1
	Labour Party	26,872	15.84	7	+1
	Christian Democratic Appeal	24,105	14.21	6	−4
	Party for Freedom	20,018	11.80	5	New
	Reformed Political Party	18,828	11.10	4	−1
	Socialist Party	14,412	8.49	3	−2
	Party for Zeeland	9,456	5.57	2	0
	Christian Union	7,965	4.69	2	−1
	Democrats 66	6,967	4.11	2	+2
	GroenLinks	6,095	3.59	1	−1
Other parties		6,401	3.77	0	–
Total		169,674	100.00	38	–

Valid votes		169,674	99.80
Invalid/blank votes		343	0.20
Total votes		170,017	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		288,911	58.85
Source: Kiesraad^[17]

Island council elections

Political party	2007	2011	change
Bonaire island council
Union Patriotiko Boneriano (UPB)	5	4	-1
Partido Demokrátiko Boneriano (PDB)	4	3	-1
Partido Pro Hustisia & Union (PHU)	-	1	+1
Movementu Boneiru Liber (MBL)	-	1	+1
total	9	9
turnout	83%	75%
Saba island council
Windward Islands People's Movement (WIPM)	4	4	-
Saba Labour Party (SLP)	1	1	-
total	5	5
turnout		88%
Sint Eustatius island council
Democratische Partij (DP)	4	2	-2
Progressive Labour Party (PLP)	1	1	-
United People’s Coalition (UPC)	-	1	+1
St. Eustatius Empowerment Party (STEP)	-	1	+1
total	5	5
turnout		68%