Amsterdam votes | The votes have been counted: GroenLinks also favourite at UvA polling stations
It may already feel like a while ago, but last week Amsterdam voted for the city council. Amsterdammers were able to cast their votes at various UvA buildings. Also at the UvA, GroenLinks emerged as the clear winner.
Six different locations of the University of Amsterdam were used as polling stations during the municipal elections on 18 March, and they were well attended. In total, 4,504 valid votes were cast at polling stations located in the Bushuis, the PC Hoofthuis, the University Library, Crea, the main building at Science Park and Amsterdam University College. This amounts to 1.3 per cent of all votes cast in Amsterdam.
With 1,377 votes, Crea on the Roeterseiland Campus was the busiest UvA polling station. There, GroenLinks emerged as the winner with 321 votes (23.3 per cent of the total). D66 came second at Crea with 249 votes, followed by the PvdA (172), the VVD (110) and the PvdD (101).
That GroenLinks was by far the most popular party among UvA voters was particularly evident in the results at Science Park. Voters who cast their ballots in the main building of the Faculty of Science overwhelmingly supported the party led by list leader and alderwoman Zita Pels. Of the 642 votes cast there, more than a third (219) went to GroenLinks. D66 (71), PvdA (61), Volt (61) and PvdD (61) followed at a considerable distance.
De Vonk
GroenLinks achieved an equally strong victory at Amsterdam University College (AUC). With 202 out of 612 votes, the party secured 33 per cent of the electorate. A notable result here: De Vonk, a party which split from Bij1, came second with 80 votes. This may not be entirely surprising, given the close ties the radical left-wing party has with the UvA. De Vonk was co-founded in 2025 by members of the Activist Party, the largest student party in the CSR. Although De Vonk received a considerable number of votes at various UvA locations, it did not win a seat on the council. The PvdA (69), D66 (56) and Volt (48) also secured a significant number of votes at AUC.
The new University Library, available for the first time as a polling station, was also well attended. Of the 960 voters, 222 voted for GroenLinks (23.1 per cent). D66 received 157 votes, while the PvdA secured 135 and the VVD 92. GroenLinks was also the most popular party in the Bushuis. Of the 423 voters, 94 marked the GroenLinks box on the ballot paper; accounting for 22.2 per cent. D66 received 68 votes there, the VVD 49 and the PvdA 36.
The only UvA polling station where GroenLinks faced any real competition was the PC Hoofthuis. Although the party still came first there, with 90 out of 490 votes (18.4 per cent), the gap with D66 (84) and the VVD (71) was small.
Progressief Nederland
The campaign teams of GroenLinks and the PvdA – this week officially rebranded as the joint party Progressief Nederland – can look back with satisfaction on their results at the UvA. A combined total of no less than 37.4 per cent of the votes went to the two parties, which will continue in the Amsterdam city council as a single group with 17 seats.
In terms of preference votes, GroenLinks lead candidate Zita Pels was the clear favourite at the UvA, with 452 votes. D66 lead candidate Melanie van der Horst came second with 340 votes, followed by VVD lead candidate Daan Wijnants (192) and PvdA lead candidate Sofyan Mbarki (184).
