Provincial States

Provinciehuis of Groningen (in the capital of the province of the same name)

Provinciehuis in The Hague ( Zuid-Holland )

As Provinciale Staten refers to the Parliament a Dutch province . Literally translated the term means provincial or provincial estates , in German it is rendered as provincial parliament or provincial states . In Dutch it is often called Staten for short .

The task of the provincial states is the election and control of a provincial government, the Gedeputeerde Staten . They also take decisions, for example on the provincial budget. In comparison with, for example, German and Austrian federal states or Swiss cantons, the provinces have very little authority.

Election and number of members

By 1850, that is to Provinciewet of Johan Rudolf Thorbecke , nobles and knights machinations have a third of statenleden (members of the Staten selected). Since then, the states have been elected by citizens who are entitled to vote, as has the second chamber of the national parliament .

The states of all provinces are elected every four years on the same day in the Provinciale Statenverkiezingen . As is customary in the Netherlands, proportional representation applies. In 2015, 570 seats were awarded, of which the right-wing liberals and the Christian Democrats each received 89, the socialists 70, the left-liberals 67, the right-wing populists 66 and the social democrats 63. A total of 21 political groups are represented in provincial parliaments. The strongest regional grouping is the Frisian National Party with four out of 43 seats in the province of Friesland .

The turnout is 40 to 55 percent, which is significantly lower than in the national parliamentary elections (most recently around 75 percent).

The number of seats to be allocated can change depending on the population development from electoral term to electoral term. The four largest states currently have 55 seats each, namely those of Noord-Holland , Zuid-Holland , Gelderland and Noord-Brabant . Zeeland has the smallest number, 39 members .

tasks

Statenzaal (meeting room of the states ) in the Huis der Provincie in Arnhem ( Gelderland )

Until 2003, the states were officially regarded as the bestuur of a province, i.e. as the executive committee, the government, the governing body. A distinction is usually made between a dagelijks bestuur , the actual board of directors. This dagelijks bestuur is the College van Gedeputeerde Staten . Since 2003 the states are also the official organ of the people's representation. Until then, the Gedeputeerde were members of the states , since then they are no longer allowed to be.

The states elect the college and have control over whether the decisions of the states are implemented. The chairman of the college is not elected by the states , however: the Dutch Ministry of the Interior appoints the king's commissioner .

Furthermore, the states of all provinces jointly elect the First Chamber of the States General , that is, the less important chamber of the national parliament. The weight of the vote of a member of a provincial parliament depends on the size of the province concerned. Since the candidates are not elected by provinces, but rather from national lists, the members of the First Chamber cannot be seen as actual representatives of the provinces, and the First Chamber does not have the task of representing the provinces.

Seat and organization

The provincial states of the province usually meet in the Provinciehuis , where the administration of the province is also located. In Gelderland the building is called Huis der Provincie , in Limburg Gouvernement .

The parliament as such has an administration under a secretary, the Statengriffier (or short: griffier ) is called. The fractions each have one or more fracture assistants . This is a voluntary, but sworn citizen who supports the parliamentary group members with input; often it is someone who was on the electoral list of the party concerned.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Verkiezingsuitlagen Provinciale Staten 1918 - heden . Kiesraad (Dutch)
2. ↑ Provinciale staten overview page ( Memento of the original from July 17, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Kiesraad (Dutch) 

Web links

• provincies.nl (Dutch)