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Elections in the Netherlands are held for six territorial levels of government: the European Union, the state, the twelve Provinces of the Netherlands, the 25 water boards, the 403 municipalities (and the 3 ''public bodies'' in the Caribbean Netherlands) and in two cities (Amsterdam and Rotterdam) for neighbourhood councils (stadsdeelraden). Apart from elections, referenda are also held occasionally, a fairly recent phenomenon in Dutch politics. The most recent national election results and an overview of the resulting seat assignments and coalitions since World War II are shown at the bottom of this page. At the national level, legislative power is invested in the States General (''Staten-Generaal''), which is bicameral. The House of Representatives (''Tweede Kamer'') has 150 members, elected for a four-year term by proportional representation. Elections are also called after a dissolution of the House of Representatives. All elections are direct, except for the Senate (''Eerste Kamer''), which has 75 members, elected for a four-year term by provincial councillors on the basis of proportional representation at the provincial elections. The Netherlands has a multi-party system, with numerous parties, in which usually no one party ever secures an overall majority of votes (except occasionally in very small municipalities, such as in Tubbergen), so that several parties must cooperate to form a coalition government. This usually includes the party supported by a plurality of voters, with only three exceptions since World War II, in 1971, 1977 and 1982, when the Dutch Labour Party (PvdA) was the largest party but did not take part in the coalition. Candidates to the elections of the House of Representatives are chosen from party lists according to a system of proportional representation. The threshold is 1/150th of the total number of valid votes. During the municipal elections of 2006, elections were electronic throughout the country. As a result, results were known before the end of the day, a mere two hours after the closing of the poll stations. For the national elections in November of that same year, however, several polling stations decided to return to paper and red pencil because of security issues with the voting machines. Since then, most elections have been held using paper and pencil. The most recent election were the local election on 19 March 2014. ==Timing== The maximum parliamentary term is five years〔Article 64.4 of the Dutch constitution〕 and elections are generally held about four years after the previous one. Normal elections, i.e. after the House of Representatives has fulfilled its term, take place in March. If municipal or provincial elections are already taking place in March of that year, the parliamentary elections are postponed to May. The elections are planned for spring to ensure that a new cabinet is formed in time to present its plans on the most important day in the Dutch Parliament, Prinsjesdag. If the House of Representatives is dissolved, due to a severe conflict between the House of Representatives and cabinet, or within the cabinet, new elections (called dissolution elections) take place as soon as possible, usually two months to give parties time to prepare. The term of the next House can be shortened or prolonged by almost a year to ensure the next normal elections again happen in March or May. Municipal and provincial elections always take place every four years, in March; municipal elections always two years after a year divisible by four, and provincial elections one year after municipal elections. City councils and States-Provincial cannot be dissolved, so no dissolution elections can occur. An exception to the four-year term is made when two or more municipalities merge and new elections take place for the merged municipality. Senate elections also take place every four years, in May following the provincial elections. The Senate can be dissolved, and subsequently dissolution elections take place, but since the States-Provincial remain the same, this seldom occurs. A Senate chosen by dissolution elections sits out the remainder of its predecessor's term. Elections usually take place on Wednesdays, but the government can decide to change this to a Tuesday, Thursday or Friday if there are good reasons to do so (e.g. when the election day coincides with a national holiday). Elections for the European Parliament always take place on a Thursday. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Elections in the Netherlands」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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