Municipal elections are, unless exempted by an act of parliament, held every fourth year in the Netherlands as prescribed by the constitution.

Goeree-Overflakkee, Molenwaard and Schagen elected their councils late 2012; Alphen aan den Rijn, De Friese Meren, Heerenveen and Leeuwarden in November 2013; and 16 other municipalities will be involved in amalgamation and will have their elections in November 2014.

The Christian Democratic Appeal became the largest party nationally, earning 14% of the votes.

VVD, although still ranked third nationwide, lost significantly compared to the 2010 elections, winning 12% of the votes.

The undisputed loser of the elections, however, was the PvdA, getting 10% of the votes and losing its plurality in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague.