Updated

The Dutch electoral commission says an advisory referendum will be held next year on a law giving intelligence agencies sweeping new powers to tap electronic communications.

The commission announced Tuesday that 384,126 citizens signed a valid request for the referendum, easily surpassing the 300,000 threshold necessary to put the new law to a public vote.

The referendum will likely be held March 21 next year at the same time as municipal elections.

It will be the second time the Netherlands has held such a referendum. Last year, voters rejected Dutch ratification of a European Union pact with Ukraine.

The government signed off on the pact anyway after gaining written assurances that were intended to address voters' fears, including that it could lead to EU membership for Ukraine.