The major difference between the district system and proportional representation lies in the effect on party relations. In the district system, only large parties have a chance because candidates from small parties will be losers in almost all districts. With proportional representation there are no real winners and losers because the seats are distributed proportionately. How is the parliament (i.e. the House of Representatives) composed of the votes of citizens entitled to vote?
District system
The oldest method is district voting and its simplest form is the relative majority system. According to this system, a candidate is elected if he receives the most votes, even if the other candidates together receive more votes (British system).
Under the absolute majority system, the candidate is only elected if he has received more than half (the absolute majority) of the votes. Often a revote will have to be held between the two candidates with the most votes before that happens (this system was used in the Netherlands until 1917).
It is essential for both forms that each district has its own representative; the system is therefore often called the district system.
Proportional representation
Since 1917, our country has voted according to the proportional representation system, which means that each political group is proportionally represented in the House of Representatives. Under this system, each political party submits a list of candidates. The voter casts his vote for one of the candidates.
After the elections, all valid votes cast are first added up and divided by the number of parliamentary seats to be allocated ( 150). The result of this partial sum is called the electoral quota, which is the number of votes needed to obtain one seat. In 1972 this electoral quota was more than 49,000 votes; Parties that achieved less than this number did not enter the House of Representatives.
The electoral quota is then divided based on the number of votes cast per list. The result provides the number of seats to which each list (= party) is entitled. However, it will be clear that the number of votes cast on a list will never be exactly a multiple of the electoral quota, so that not all seats can be distributed after this calculation.
There remain residual seats that are distributed according to the system of the largest averages. To this end, it is examined per list how much the average number of votes per seat would be if an extra seat were granted. The remaining seats are allocated on the basis of this average. The party with the highest average is allocated the first remaining seat, followed by the party with the second highest average, etc.
Calculation example for a residual seat
- Total number of valid votes cast: 7,350,000.
- Total number of chamber seats: 150.
- Divisor: 7350000: 150 = 49000.
Party a obtained 1,566,000 votes: the number of directly allocated parliamentary seats is: 1,566,000:49,000 = 31. Party a is then left with 37,000 votes. If party a occupied 32 seats, the average number of votes per seat was: 1 566000:32 = 48934.
If that average is higher than the average of other parties with a surplus, the first residual seat goes to party a. The second residual seat goes to party a. to the party with the second highest average, etc.
Party relations
The major difference between the district system and proportional representation lies in the effect on party relations. In the district system, only large parties have a chance because candidates from small parties will be losers in almost all districts. With proportional representation there are no real winners and losers because the seats are distributed proportionately; the only threshold is the electoral quota, because anyone who does not reach the electoral quota remains outside parliament. Experience shows that many small parties are able to achieve the electoral quota.
Constituencies
The memory of the district system has not yet completely disappeared in our country, because the country is divided into eighteen electoral districts for the purpose of nominating candidates and calculating the results. The nomination is made per electoral district, whereby it is permitted to submit the same list in each electoral district. Major parties sometimes use the opportunity to vary the bottom positions on the candidate list per constituency, so that some relationship remains between voters and elected officials.
The lists submitted per electoral district must be signed by 25 citizens entitled to vote. In addition, a party that is not yet represented in the House of Representatives must deposit a deposit of 1,000 guilders per electoral district, which will be refunded if the party obtains one or more parliamentary seats. The deposit requirement is imposed to impose some restrictions on the participation of all kinds of new parties in the elections.
Pros and cons
The proportional representation system has advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is the purity of the reflection of different political movements. The House of Representatives looks like a kind of political country views in the form of new parties in the House of Representatives.
The major fragmentation of the party system and the limited bond between voters and elected officials are often mentioned as disadvantages. The latter is caused by the fact that the delegates do not represent a district and therefore lack regional fame. Most voters only know the parties and tend to vote for the party leaders (the numbers one on the lists). The option to cast a preferential vote for a lower-ranking candidate is generally only used by political connoisseurs.
Of course, the party leaders of most parties receive many more votes than the electoral quota. The remaining votes are transferred to number two on the list, and when this transfer has reached the electoral quota, they are transferred to number three, etc. The voters therefore determine how many candidates are elected from each list (and therefore how the House of Representatives factions will become) but the question of which candidates are chosen is in fact decided by the compiler of the list of candidates, i.e. the political party.
However, if many voters cast a preferential vote for a lower-ranking candidate, this candidate can, as it were, move up on the candidate list. According to a certain calculation laid down in the Electoral Act, candidates with a certain number of preferential votes and the distribution of seats can be given priority over candidates placed higher on the list.
Fractions
Delegates in the House of Representatives from one and the same party together form a faction, which is led by a faction leader, usually number one on the candidate list. The faction leaders are generally the most important politicians within the political parties. They are considered the political leaders of the parties, even though they rarely or never also chair the party.
The factions are the most important elements for the political situation as expressed in parliament. The faction determines a common position on all kinds of political issues and such a position is of course more important the larger the group is. The political climate is therefore largely determined by the balance of power between the factions. That is why winning and losing in elections are so important for the political face of the parliament.