De vertekening van de uitspraak van het kiezerskorps bij de verwerking Analyse van de gemeenteraadsverkiezingen van 10 oktober 197 6

Patrick Senaeve

De vertekening van de uitspraak van het kiezerskorps bij de verwerking Analyse van de gemeenteraadsverkiezingen van 10 oktober 197 6

The method for calculating the distribution of seats in Belgium in local elections (called the Imperiali-method) is known as a method that favours stronger lists of candidates and is prejudicial to weaker lists. An exhaustive comparison was made between the results - in terms of distribution of seats - of the local elections of 10 October, 1976 and those that would have resulted from a distribution based upon the D'Hondt-method (which is used for all other elections in Belgium). This comparison shows that the distribution of seats would differ in more than two thirds of the communes. In more than one fourth of the communes parties do not obtain any representative under the present system, whereas they would under the D'Hondt system. Local and leftist parties are primarily prejudiced by the present system, whereas the big christian-democratic party is hardly hampered by it. The court of mayor and aldermen - the commune' s executive - is elected by the local councillors, and as a consequence, the majority in the council obtains all seats in the court. At present, these courts consist of representatives of one single list in 61 % of the communes and of representatives of two or more lists (executive coalition) in 39 % of the communes. On the basis of the D'Hondt-method, existing homogeneous (i.e., one party-)courts would have to be replaced by coalitions between parties in more than 10 % of the communes.

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