The 1981 Dutch general election was held on 26 May 1981 to elect all 150 members of the House of Representatives (Tweede Kamer) of the Netherlands. It was the first parliamentary election after the 1977 election and was called after the dissolution of the previous legislature.
Electoral system
Members of the House of Representatives were elected by proportional representation in a single nationwide constituency using the D’Hondt method. The electoral threshold was effectively 0.67 % of the national vote (one seat).
Results
| Party | Leader (at election) | Votes | % | Seats | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) | Dries van Agt | 2 584 220 | 33.8 | 45 | –3 |
| Labour Party (PvdA) | Joop den Uyl | 2 546 387 | 33.3 | 44 | –6 |
| People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) | Hans Wiegel | 1 165 155 | 15.2 | 28 | –2 |
| Democrats 90 (D66) | Jan Terlouw | 285 901 | 3.7 | 6 | –2 |
| Communist Party of the Netherlands (CPN) | Jan Marijnissen | 236 683 | 3.1 | 6 | – |
| Reformed Political Party (SGP) | Hette Borghuis | 115 658 | 1.5 | 3 | – |
| Catholic People's Party (now merged into CDA) – not present as separate list | |||||
| Others (including smaller parties and independents) | – | 332 784 | 4.4 | 8 | – |
Vote totals and percentages are rounded to the nearest whole number. Seats are allocated according to the national party list votes.
Voter turnout
Turnout was 84.9 % of the 9.3 million eligible voters, a slight decrease from the 1977 election.
Government formation
Following the election, Queen Juliana appointed Dries van Agt (CDA) as formateur. A coalition was formed between the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), the Labour Party (PvdA), and Democrats 90 (D66). This coalition, known as the Van Agt II cabinet, took office on 11 September 1981. The cabinet was a centre‑left coalition and held a slim majority in the House of Representatives. It collapsed in May 1982, leading to a snap election in 1982.
Historical significance
The 1981 election marked a shift away from the long‑standing dominance of the CDA‑VVD centre‑right coalitions of the post‑World War II era toward a more fragmented parliamentary landscape. The inclusion of Democrats 90 in the governing coalition reflected the growing influence of progressive and pro‑European parties in Dutch politics during the early 1980s.
References
- “Elections in the Netherlands,” Parlement.com, Dutch Parliamentary Documentation Center.
- “Results of the 1981 Tweede Kamer election,” Statistics Netherlands (CBS).
- “Van Agt II (1981‑1982),” Rijksoverheid (Government of the Netherlands) archives.
All information is based on documented election data from reputable Dutch governmental and statistical sources.
