Samenvatting

In the discussion about the introduction of a directly elected mayor in the Netherlands the issue of election procedures is largely ignored. Election procedures, however, are not neutral. Five different elections procedures that can be used to elect a mayor (simple majority, two round system, alternative vote, Cooms rule and the adjusted Copeland rule) are analyzed using seven different criteria (selecting majority winners, selecting condorcet winners, not selecting condorcet losers, monotonicity, strategy proofness, simplicity and costs). With respect to most of the criteria used, the adjusted Copeland score rule outperforms the other procedures mentioned.