Provincial council (Netherlands)

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The provincial council (Dutch : Provinciale Staten, PS), 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.

Contents

The provincial councils originated as Estates assemblies in the Middle Ages, hence the name 'States Provincial'. 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.

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:

ProvinceSeats 2003Seats 2007Seats 2011Seats 2015Seats 2019Seats 2023
Groningen 554343434343
Friesland 554343434343
Drenthe 514141414143
Overijssel 634747474747
Flevoland 473939414141
Gelderland 755355555555
Utrecht 634747494949
North Holland 835555555555
South Holland 835555555555
Zeeland 473939393939
North Brabant 795555555555
Limburg 634747474747
Total764564566570570572

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

Outcome of the provincial elections calculated at national level:

Political party2003*20072011201520192023
Farmer–Citizen Movement (BBB)137
Forum for Democracy (FvD)8615
People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD)103102112898063
Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA)16915186897243
GroenLinks (GL)373334306151
Labour Party (PvdA)150114107635346
Party for Freedom (PVV)069664034
Democrats 66 (D66)20942674032
Socialist Party (SP)298356703523
Christian Union (CU)193523293122
Party for the Animals (PvdD)087182025
JA21 22
50Plus 00914178
Reformed Political Party (SGP)131312181416
Denk (DENK)40
Volt 11
GroenLinks–PvdA [1] 6
CU – SGP [2] 431211
Pim Fortuyn List (LPF)100--
Regionalist parties10138151517
Total564564566570570572
Turnout47.62%46.40%55.97%47.76%56.16%58.80%

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

See also

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References

  1. Combinated list in Zeeland.
  2. Combinated list in two provinces (North Holland and North Brabant, also Friesland in 2003).