Dutch General Election, 2006 - Seat Allocation

Seat Allocation

There are two things to note about the allocation to seats: first the division of remainder seats and second the MPs elected because of preference seats.

The Netherlands use a D'Hondt method to allocate remainder seats. In order to get more of these seats two combined lists were formed. In the distribution of these seats the Socialist Party and the GreenLeft formed one block, as did the ChristianUnion and the SGP. The GreenLeft-SP alliance got one rest seat, the CDA got two, the PvdA got two, D66 got one and the PVV also got one. This means that these parties are slightly overrepresented in parliament.

With the Dutch system of open list proportional representation, voters may indicate their preference for a particular candidate on a party's list. Usually the vast majority of people vote for the top candidate, however this is not always the case.

In this election the number two candidate on the VVD list, Immigration Minister Rita Verdonk received a greater number of preference votes (620,555) than the party's lijsttrekker Mark Rutte (553,200). This was attributed to her greater national profile.

Also, the number six candidate on the D66 list, Fatma Koşer Kaya received the second highest number of D66 preferences (34,564), second only to lijsttrekker Alexander Pechtold (95,937).

This resulted from the CDA and PvdA removing candidates of Turkish origin from their lists because of their position on the Armenian Genocide of 1915–17. As a result the influential Turks Forum advised voters of Turkish origin to vote for Koser Kaya, who is of Turkish origin, although her position on the genocide is ambiguous.

Any candidate reaching the quota (16,397 votes in this election) is elected, taking preference over other candidates on the list. This means Koser Kaya is elected, despite being at number six on the list. D66 will receive only three seats, according to its share of the national vote.