Fewer corona measures will apply in the municipal elections in March than in previous elections. New relaxations will come into effect on Friday and Minister Bruins Slot of the Interior will write to the House of Representatives that it will no longer be mandatory in the upcoming elections, for example, to wear a face mask or to observe a distance of one and a half meters at the polling station.
In order to spread out voters and give people the opportunity to seek out a quiet moment, the elections are spread over three days: Monday 14, Tuesday 15 and Wednesday 16 March. According to research by I&O Research, about one in five voters wants to vote on Monday or Tuesday.
Free self-test
Bruins Slot emphasizes that all voters should feel comfortable casting their vote. The polling stations are set up in such a way that voters who want to can keep their distance. ‘Hand contact points’ are also regularly cleaned.
The minister writes in her letter that not all municipalities have enough polling station members and counters yet. She calls on the municipalities to create a large reserve file in case polling station members drop out at the last minute due to contamination or because they have to be quarantined. Polling station members and counters can do a self-test for free. But a municipality may not make such a test compulsory.
Results and debates
Basic measures, such as good ventilation, will apply on results evenings and election debates from next Friday. If more than 500 people are present at those events and people in the audience have no fixed seat, the attendees must be able to show a negative test.
Bruins Slot advises municipalities to provide a live stream at such events, so that people can also watch from home.
Reported by NOS
