General elections were held in the Netherlands on 5 and 15 June 1917 to elect members of the House of Representatives of the Dutch Parliament. The elections were held following an agreement between the seven political parties with seats in parliament to allow a change in the constitution to introduce universal male suffrage and proportional representation. Polling was held for 50 constituencies with only one candidate on 5 June, in which 50 MPs were elected. In the other 50 constituencies with opposition candidates, voting was held on 15 July. A second round was required in Amsterdam, where Social Democratic Workers' Party candidate was re-elected.
1,078,205 citizens were eligible to vote of which 230,310 cast a vote, representing a turnout of 21.36%.[1]
![Azure, billetty Or a lion with a coronet Or armed and langued Gules holding in his dexter paw a sword Argent hilted Or and in the sinister paw seven arrows Argent pointed and bound together Or. [The seven arrows stand for the seven provinces of the Union of Utrecht.] The shield is crowned with the (Dutch) royal crown and supported by two lions Or armed and langued gules. They stand on a scroll Azure with the text (Or) "Je Maintiendrai" (French for "I will maintain".)](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8f/State_coat_of_arms_of_the_Netherlands.svg/150px-State_coat_of_arms_of_the_Netherlands.svg.png)
