Dutch general election, 1971

Dutch general election, 1971

28 March 1971
All 150 seats to the House of Representatives 76 seats were needed for a majority
Turnout	79.1%
First party Second party Third party   Gerard Veringa Leader Joop den Uyl Gerard Veringa Molly Geertsema Party PvdA KVP VVD Leader since 1966 1971 1969 Last election 37 seats, 23.5% 42 seats, 26.5% 17 seats, 10.7% Seats won 39 35 16 Seat change 2 7 1 Popular vote 1,552,276 1,380,539 653,092 Percentage 24.5% 21.8% 10.3%   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Hans van Mierlo Berend Jan Udink Leader Barend Biesheuvel Hans van Mierlo Berend Jan Udink Party ARP D66 CHU Leader since 1963 1966 1970 Last election 15 seats, 9.9% 7 seats, 4.4% 10 seats, 6.3% Seats won 13 11 7 Seat change 2 4 3 Popular vote 542,780 427,720 354,463 Percentage 8.5% 6.7% 4.4%   Seventh party Eighth party Ninth party   Willem Drees, Jr. Marcus Bakker Hette Abma Leader Willem Drees, Jr. Marcus Bakker Hette Abma Party DS'70 CPN SGP Leader since 1971 1963 1971 Last election First Election 5 seats, 3.6% 3 seats, 2.0% Seats won 8 6 3 Seat change 8 1 0 Popular vote 336,282 246,299 148,282 Percentage 5.3% 3.8% 2.3%
250px Seats
Prime Minister before election Piet de Jong KVP Prime Minister Barend Biesheuvel ARP

General elections were held in the Netherlands on 28 March 1971. The Labour Party emerged as the largest party, winning 39 of the 150 seats in the House of Representatives. The election was the first without mandatory voting, causing a sharp fall in voter turnout, down to 79.1% from 94.9% at the 1967 elections. Barend Biesheuvel of the Anti Revolutionary Party became Prime Minister, leading the first Biesheuvel cabinet.

Results

Party	Votes	%	Seats	+/–
Labour Party	1,554,280	24.6	39	+2
Catholic People's Party	1,379,672	21.8	35	–7
People's Party for Freedom and Democracy	653,370	10.3	16	–1
Anti Revolutionary Party	542,742	8.6	13	–2
Democrats 1966	428,067	6.8	11	+4
Christian Historical Union	399,106	6.3	10	–2
Democratic Socialists '70	336,714	5.3	8	New
Communist Party of the Netherlands	246,569	3.9	6	+1
Reformed Political Party	148,192	2.3	3	0
Political Party of Radicals	116,049	1.8	2	New
Reformed Political League	101,790	1.6	2	+1
New Middle Party	95,706	1.5	2	New
Pacifist Socialist Party	90,738	1.4	2	–2
Farmers' Party	69,656	1.1	1	–6
General Elderly Party of the Netherlands	155,496	2.3	0	New
Elderly Party 65+			0	New
Elderly Party General Interest			0	New
Elderly and Labour Party			0	New
Binding Right			0	New
Democrats 2000			0	New
Kabouters			0	New
Rural Party for the Elderly			0	New
Van Velsen List			0	New
Netherlands Appeal			0	New
New Roman Party			0	New
Positive Social Democrats			0	New
Party of the Right			0	0
Stichting Gedupeerde Groepen 18+ t/m 65+			0	New
Invalid/blank votes	46,567	–	–	–
Total	6,364,719	100	150	0
Registered voters/turnout	8,048,726	79.1	–	–
Source: Nohlen & Stöver

Popular Vote
PvdA			24.60%
KVP			21.84%
VVD			10.34%
ARP			8.59%
D66			6.78%
CHU			6.32%
DS70			5.33%
CPN			3.90%
SGP			2.35%
PPR			1.84%
GPV			1.61%
NMP			1.51%
PSP			1.44%
BP			1.10%
Other			2.46%