Provincial council (Netherlands)

History

The provincial councils originated as Estates assemblies in the Middle Ages, hence the name 'States Provincial'. After the Dutch Republic was established in 1588, the States became responsible for appointing their stadtholder. The power of the cities and the nobility were mostly balanced in the States, except in the wealthiest and most powerful province, Holland, where parliament was dominated by the cities. In 1780, a total of 58 cities had representation in the States. From 1813 to 1850, the noble members of the ridderschap chose one-third of the members of the provincial councils. Johan Rudolf Thorbecke's reforms and his 'Provinces Law' (Provinciewet) of 1850 brought this privilege to an end.

Functions

The provincial council chooses the provincial executive, which is the executive organ of the province. Originally, the States Provincial themselves also had executive powers and chose the provincial executive from among their own members. On 11 March 2003, the two institutions split.

The principal roles of the provincial council have become to set general policies, represent the people, approve provincial legislation and the annual budget and to oversee the executive. Both the provincial executive and the provincial council are chaired by the King's Commissioner in the province, appointed by the monarch every six years.

The last provincial elections were held on 15 March 2023.

Three months after their election, the combined members of the States Provincial elect the members of the Senate of the States General of the Netherlands.

Number of seats in each provincial council

The size of the provincial councils ranges from 39 members for a province with less than 400,000 inhabitants to 55 members for a province with more than 2,000,000 inhabitants.

Before 2007, they ranged from 47 members for a province with less than 200,000 inhabitants to 83 members for a province with more than 2,500,000 inhabitants. As a consequence of a change to the Provinciewet, starting at the provincial elections of 7 March 2007, the total number of provincial councillors was reduced from 764 to 564. A survey of the change in seats per province:

A consequence of this reduction in the number of seats is that the election threshold (the minimum number of votes needed for a party to gain at least one seat in an assembly) has risen. Depending on the province, the threshold now lies between 1.5% and over 2% of the votes. Because of this, it has become harder for small parties to win a seat. This may also have consequences for the representation of small parties in the Senate, which is elected by the members of the States Provincial.

National results

Note *: 2003 election calculated for the 2007 number of seats (564).

References

References

1. Habben Jansen, Eddy. (2021). "Nederlandse politiek voor Dummies". BBNC Uitgevers.
2. (2010). "De Nederlandse politiek in een notendop". Uitgeverij Bert Bakker.
3. Combinated list in Zeeland.
4. Combinated list in two provinces (North Holland and North Brabant, also Friesland in 2003).