1977 Dutch general election explained

Country:Netherlands
Previous Election:1972
Next Election:1981
Seats For Election:All 150 seats in the House of Representatives
Majority Seats:76
Election Date:25 May 1977
Turnout:88.1% (4.6 pp)
Leader1:Joop den Uyl
Party1:Labour Party (Netherlands)
Last Election1:43
Seats1:53
Percentage1:33.8%
Leader2:Dries van Agt
Party2:Christian Democratic Appeal
Last Election2:48
Seats2:49
Percentage2:31.9%
Leader3:Hans Wiegel
Party3:People's Party for Freedom and Democracy
Last Election3:22
Seats3:28
Percentage3:17.9%
Leader4:Jan Terlouw
Party4:Democrats 66
Last Election4:6
Seats4:8
Percentage4:5.4%
Leader5:Hette Abma
Party5:Reformed Political Party
Last Election5:3
Seats5:3
Percentage5:2.1%
Leader6:Marcus Bakker
Party6:Communist Party of the Netherlands
Last Election6:7
Seats6:2
Percentage6:1.7%
Leader7:Ria Beckers
Party7:Political Party of Radicals
Last Election7:7
Seats7:3
Percentage7:1.6%
Leader8:Bart Verbrugh
Party8:Reformed Political League
Last Election8:2
Seats8:1
Percentage8:0.9%
Leader9:Bram van der Lek
Party9:Pacifist Socialist Party
Last Election9:2
Seats9:1
Percentage9:0.9%
Leader10:Hendrik Koekoek
Party10:Farmers' Party (Netherlands)
Last Election10:3
Seats10:1
Percentage10:0.8%
Leader11:Willem Drees Jr.
Party11:Democratic Socialists '70
Last Election11:6
Seats11:1
Percentage11:0.7%
Map:TweedeKamer 1977.png
Cabinet
Before Election:Den Uyl cabinet
Before Party:PvdAKVPARPD66PPR
After Election:First Van Agt cabinet
After Party:CDAVVD

General elections were held in the Netherlands on 25 May 1977.[1] The Labour Party remained the largest party, winning 53 of the 150 seats in the House of Representatives.[2] Following the election, it took 208 days of negotiations to form a new government. This was a European record for longest government formation that stood until after the 2010 Belgian general election.[3] The Christian Democratic Appeal was formed by the Anti-Revolutionary Party (ARP), Christian Historical Union (CHU) and the Catholic People's Party (KVP) in 1976. The first joint party leader was a member of the KVP, Dries van Agt.

Eventually a coalition was formed between the Christian Democratic Appeal and the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy with Dries van Agt as Prime Minister.

Results

By province

Results by province[4]
ProvincePvdACDAVVDD'66SGPCPNPPRGPVPSPBPDS'70Others
41.527.118.24.40.41.21.41.80.61.30.61.5
37.337.412.34.40.91.51.31.60.80.60.61.3
30.835.517.24.83.70.61.70.70.91.40.52.2
42.424.314.44.40.34.31.94.01.30.70.61.4
30.144.614.73.30.11.11.90.10.71.00.42.0
28.843.715.75.00.50.61.60.20.81.10.51.5
35.422.921.77.30.54.52.10.41.50.61.21.9
31.039.513.24.22.91.11.32.20.51.20.42.5
37.924.619.96.13.81.31.50.80.80.40.92.0
33.129.018.96.71.02.92.81.30.60.60.72.4
28.230.522.16.63.20.91.91.61.30.70.72.3
32.629.817.34.48.40.41.51.60.51.00.61.9

Notes and References

  1. [Dieter Nohlen]
  2. Nohlen & Stöver, p1414
  3. Web site: Belgium's shoddy political record poses financial threat. https://archive.today/20130124183352/http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5icaxxHSmnBBG2Njff5zmhjM2idLg?docId=CNG.f743df69e39530a06cd5cbf6c176ca6f.231 . dead . January 24, 2013 . Laurent Thomet . January 8, 2011 . 2011-01-27 . Without a government for nearly seven months, Belgium now holds a dubious record in Europe and with no end in sight to the political crisis, fears are growing of a backlash from watchful markets. The divided country on Saturday broke the 208-day mark set by the Netherlands in 1977 for being without a government..
  4. Web site: Tweede Kamer 25 mei 1977 . Kiesraad . Dutch . 4 November 2021.