On Wednesday 6 December, several changes to the electoral law were voted on. These clarifications were necessary, because there had been snap election in October 2013.

Until now, national elections were always scheduled for the first Sunday in June; if this had stayed unchanged, the current legislative period would have exceeded the maximum duration of 5 years, which the Constitution stipulates.

The new rule does not state the exact date anymore, but instead fixes the election date on the Sunday before the mandate of 5 years after the previous elections runs out. The last time, elections were held on 20 October 2013; therefore the next parliament will be voted on 14 October 2018.

In order to avoid the local elections coinciding with parliamentary elections, as would be the case in 2023, the local elections will now take place in June.

These new rules also decouple national from European elections, which so far have always taken place on the same day.