Composition
Of the total of 71 elected senators, 40 are elected directly, 21 appointed by the Community parliaments and 10 senators are co-opted. The overall distribution of seats between parties is however determined by the results of the direct election. Prior to the Belgian federal election of May 21, 1995, there were 184 elected senators. The fourth State Reform, which took place in 1993, revised the Belgian Constitution and replaced the provincial senators, who were appointed by the Provincial Councils, with Community senators. The change took effect following the May 21, 1995 federal election.
Read more about this topic: Senate (Belgium)
Famous quotes containing the word composition:
“Give a scientist a problem and he will probably provide a solution; historians and sociologists, by contrast, can offer only opinions. Ask a dozen chemists the composition of an organic compound such as methane, and within a short time all twelve will have come up with the same solution of CH4. Ask, however, a dozen economists or sociologists to provide policies to reduce unemployment or the level of crime and twelve widely differing opinions are likely to be offered.”
—Derek Gjertsen, British scientist, author. Science and Philosophy: Past and Present, ch. 3, Penguin (1989)
“At painful times, when composition is impossible and reading is not enough, grammars and dictionaries are excellent for distraction.”
—Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806–1861)
“Every thing in his composition was little; and he had all the weaknesses of a little mind, without any of the virtues, or even the vices, of a great one.”
—Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl Chesterfield (1694–1773)