There are twelve provinces of the Netherlands representing the administrative layer between the national government and the local governments, with responsibility for matters of subnational or regional importance.
The Netherlands is a parliamentary representative democracy. A constitutional monarchy, the country is organised as a decentralised unitary state. The Netherlands can be described as a consociational state. Dutch politics and governance are characterised by a common striving for broad consensus on important issues, within both of the political community and society as a whole.
The Kingdom of Belgium is divided into three regions. Two of these regions, Flanders and Wallonia, are each subdivided into five provinces. The third region, Brussels, does not belong to any province and nor is it subdivided into provinces. Instead, it has amalgamated both regional and provincial functions into a single "Capital Region" administration.
The Greens is a political party in the Netherlands. It advocates for Green politics, an unconditional basic income and emphasises its anti-militarism.
The Senate is the upper house of the States General, the legislature of the Netherlands. Its 75 members are elected on lists by the members of the twelve States-Provincial and four electoral colleges for the Senate every four years, within three months of the provincial elections. All provinces and colleges have different electoral weight depending on their population.
Elections in the Netherlands are held for five territorial levels of government: the European Union, the state, the twelve provinces, the 21 water boards and the 342 municipalities. Apart from elections, referendums were also held occasionally, but were removed from the law in 2018.
The Provincial Council of Friesland is the provincial council for the Dutch province of Friesland, first introduced under the Constitution of the Netherlands in 1814. It forms the legislative body of the province. Its 43 seats are distributed every four years in provincial elections. Since 2008, it is chaired by John Jorritsma (VVD).
The provincial council, also known as the States-Provincial, is the provincial parliament and legislative assembly in each of the provinces of the Netherlands. It is elected for each province simultaneously once every four years and has the responsibility for matters of sub-national or regional importance. The number of seats in a provincial council is proportional to its population.
The Party for the North is a regional political party in the Netherlands founded in December 2002 representing the interests of the provinces of Groningen, Friesland and Drenthe. The PvhN seeks a separate Parliament for these three northern provinces, and for 25% of the country's profits from natural gas to go directly to them.
The Provincial Council of Zeeland, also known as the States of Zeeland, is the provincial council of Zeeland, Netherlands. It forms the legislative body of the province. Its 39 seats are distributed every four years in provincial elections.
Provincial elections were held in the Netherlands on Wednesday 2 March 2011. Eligible voters elected the members of the provincial councils in the twelve provinces. These elections also indirectly determined the members of the Senate, since the 566 members of the twelve provincial councils elected the Senate's 75 members in the Senate election on 23 May 2011.
The Provincial Council of Drenthe, also known as the States of Drenthe, is the provincial council of Drenthe, Netherlands. It forms the legislative body of the province. The Provincial Council currently holds 41 seats, which are distributed every four years in provincial elections. Due to the population of Drenthe having grown larger than 500.000 in September of 2022, the amount of seats in the Provincial Council of Drenthe is set to be expanded from 41 to 43 after the 2023 provincial elections.
The Provincial Council of Groningen, also known as the States of Groningen, is the provincial council of Groningen, Netherlands. It forms the legislative body of the province. Its 43 seats are distributed every four years in provincial elections.
The Provincial Council of North Brabant, also known as the States of North Brabant, is the provincial council of North Brabant, Netherlands. It forms the legislative body of the province. Its 55 seats are distributed every four years in provincial elections.
The Provincial Council of South Holland, also known as the States of South Holland, is the provincial council of South Holland, Netherlands. It forms the legislative body of the province. Its 55 seats are distributed every four years in provincial elections.
The States of Gelderland are the States-Provincial for the Dutch province of Gelderland. It forms the legislative body of the province. Its 55 seats are distributed every four years in provincial elections. From 2005 till early 2019, it was chaired by Clemens Cornielje (VVD).
Erik Ronnes is a Dutch politician. He was member of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands for the Christian Democratic Appeal between 20 May 2015 and 20 May 2020. Since 15 May 2020 he has been member of the Provincial-executive of North Brabant.
Forza! Nederland is a Dutch right-wing populist political organisation active in the Netherlands. Despite the name, the party has no connection nor is part of Forza Italia.
The electoral colleges for the Senate are the electoral colleges of the Caribbean Netherlands and Dutch expatriates. Their members together with the members of the provincial councils in the European Netherlands choose the Senators of the Dutch Senate.
Provincial elections were held in the Netherlands on 15 March 2023, on the same day as the water board elections, as well as island council elections in the Caribbean Netherlands.
