WILLEMSTAD – Curaçao residents with Dutch nationality who meet specific eligibility requirements can register to vote in the March 17, 2027 election for the Electoral College for Non-Residents, giving them an indirect voice in the composition of the Dutch Senate.
The municipality of The Hague, which administers voting arrangements for Dutch citizens living abroad, launched a new registration campaign on Sunday aimed at eligible voters outside the Netherlands.
The Electoral College for Non-Residents was created to give Dutch citizens living abroad influence over the composition of the Senate, or Eerste Kamer. Voters do not elect senators directly. Instead, they elect members of the Electoral College, who will cast their votes for the Senate in The Hague on May 24, 2027.
Additional eligibility requirements apply to Dutch citizens living in Curaçao, Aruba and Sint Maarten. Having Dutch nationality alone is not sufficient.
Eligible voters must live outside the Netherlands, no longer be registered as residents of a Dutch municipality and be at least 18 years old on election day.
For residents of Curaçao, Aruba and Sint Maarten, an additional condition applies: they must have lived in the Netherlands for at least ten years, be employed in Dutch public service, or be a member of the household of someone employed in Dutch public service.
The system differs from that used in Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba, where residents elect their own electoral colleges for the Senate. Eligible Dutch citizens in Curaçao instead participate through the Electoral College for Non-Residents.
Registration for the March 17 election must be completed no later than February 3, 2027.
However, The Hague is advising eligible voters to register before December 1, 2026. Those registered by then are expected to have their postal voting certificate sent on December 16.
Once registered for the Electoral College for Non-Residents, voters will automatically receive the necessary voting documents for subsequent elections for the college and will not have to register again each time.
Voting in the Electoral College election is conducted exclusively by mail. Unlike some other Dutch elections, voters cannot authorize another person to vote on their behalf or use a voter card to cast their ballot elsewhere.
The elected members of the Electoral College for Non-Residents will ultimately vote alongside members of the 12 Dutch Provincial Councils and the electoral colleges of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba to determine the 75 members of the Dutch Senate.
The number of Dutch citizens abroad who register is also significant because it is used in calculating the voting weight assigned to members of the Electoral College for Non-Residents. As a result, higher registration among eligible Dutch citizens abroad can increase the electoral weight of the college in the eventual Senate election.