Rules for campaigning in election time

No election campaigning in or near polling places on March 17, 2027

At the polling station, it is strictly prohibited to influence voters in any way regarding their choice of candidate. If any campaign advertising or statements are present, the chairperson of the polling station must put an immediate stop to them.

To ensure that polling station officials remain neutral, they must not display any political preferences while on duty. This means, for example, that they may not wear clothing, pins, or accessories associated with a political party.

On Election Day, no campaign advertisements or messages may be displayed outside the polling place within 50 meters of the polling station. All campaign materials must be removed the day before Election Day.

Placing objects on or along the road in accordance with the APV

The General Local Ordinance (APV) includes the following:

Article 2:5 Environmental Permit for Placing Objects on or Along the Road

1.a. It is prohibited to use a road or a section of a road in any manner other than in accordance with its public function without a permit or in deviation from the terms of a permit.
1.b. The permit is granted by the competent authority as an environmental permit.

Where can you advertise without a permit?

During election season, participating parties are permitted to advertise in public spaces. The municipality of Zoetermeer offers the following options for this purpose.

1. Campaign Signs (Trotters)

Political parties participating in the election may use the Trotter election sign. The municipality of Zoetermeer has decided to place 15 of these signs throughout the city. These Trotter signs display all parties in a single overview, listed in order of their ballot numbers.

Political parties participating in the election can submit their posters digitally to the operator of these Trotter election billboards. Parties will receive more information about this in due time.

We will have these campaign signs installed after the candidate nomination process is complete, since the list numbers will be known at that time. Please contact Imagebuilding, the operator of the Trotters, for further information. Visit the website www.imagebuilding.com for more details.

2. Free poster spaces / poster columns

In Zoetermeer, we have 14 available posting locations (posting columns). Anyone may use these posting columns to post posters announcing messages (expressions of opinion) and/or events (announcements).

The posting of commercial advertising (brand and product advertising) and obscene, racist or offensive posters and/or texts are not permitted. These are punishable and will be removed.

The billboard columns are cleaned three times a year (weather permitting):

• late January - early February
• late May - early June
• late October - early November

For more information, please visit the " Free Posting Spots" page.

3. Sandwich Signs

No freestanding sandwich boards or triangular signs may be placed around lampposts, trees, or elsewhere. In Zoetermeer, however, there are designated locations with permanent sandwich boards operated by ESH Media. Space on these permanent sandwich boards attached to lampposts can only be reserved via www.eshmedia.nl.

4. Handing out flyers

By “flyering,” we mean handing out promotional materials on the street. If political parties distribute flyers (or have them distributed), they are responsible for removing discarded flyers from the street. If they do not, the municipality will charge them for the cleanup costs.

5. Costs Associated with Unauthorized Advertising

The costs associated with removing or cleaning up unauthorized advertisements will be recovered from the offender.