Dutch minister suggests radical election overhaul to give provinces more national clout

In a potentially seismic shift for Dutch politics, Interior Minister Judith Uitermark has proposed a radical overhaul of the country’s election system that would see the vast majority of national lawmakers in the Tweede Kamer chosen by province, a move aimed at bolstering the influence of regional areas in national decision-making. The plan was detailed in a letter leaked to RTL Nieuws, with Uitermark suggesting 125 of the 150 members of the lower house of Parliament elected by ballots with different candidates per province.

Under the current system, Dutch voters cast ballots during Tweede Kamer elections for national party lists, with candidates elected based on their position on the list and the overall party vote. Uitermark’s proposal would fundamentally alter this, shifting power away from national party organizations and towards regional constituencies.

The leaked letter outlines a plan to divide the Netherlands into 12 electoral districts, each corresponding to one of the country’s provinces, RTL Nieuws explained. Voters in each province would then select candidates from a list specific to that region, with the number of seats allocated to each province determined by its population.

The remaining 25 seats in the Tweede Kamer would then be used to assure national proportionality is maintained despite the increase in regional representation. These seats would be allocated nationally to parties based on their total vote count as a way to prevent the overhauled election system from causing dramatic shifts in overall party representation.

Uitermark said the shift is intended to address concerns about the overrepresentation by politicians residing in certain regions, particularly the Randstad area. The region is home to roughly half of the 18 million people living in the Netherlands. Currently, 41 people from Zuid-Holland sit in the Tweede Kamer, according to RTL Nieuws. That would fall to 28 under Uitermark’s proposal. Of the 30 seats filled by someone from Noord-Holland, just 21 would remain if her plan moves forward.

She argued that electing MPs through provincial lists would foster a stronger connection between lawmakers and the specific challenges faced by their constituents. This would lead to more effective representation and better address regional concerns such as the impact of gas extraction in Groningen and the challenges posed by nitrogen pollution.

Still, it was not immediately clear why Uitermark found this dramatic change to national elections to be necessary, considering the parliamentarians serving in the Eerste Kamer, or the Dutch Senate, are ultimately determined by the outcome of provincial elections. Uitermark’s NSC party is floundering in public polling, and it is not clear if she has the support of the other coalition parties, PVV, VVD and BBB.

The proposal has yet to be formally presented to the Dutch Cabinet, but has been discussed with some Cabinet members, according to ANP. The proposal ties in with what NSC party leader Pieter Omtzigt suggested earlier, ANP reported. A change to the electoral system to strengthen regional ties is also in the coalition agreement, but the leaked letter was likely to cause a debate about national party cohesion and the potential for increased regionalism.