D'Hondt system / Rolling D'Hondt
D'Hondt system / Rolling D'Hondt
A mathematical method. Named after its inventor, a Belgian political scientist.
Used to calculate how many seats each political party gets in an election based on proportional representation.
Seats are allocated according to the number of votes obtained. This system gives an advantage to bigger parties: If three seats shall be distributed according to the d`Hondt system a party with 30.1 % of the votes will have all seats when 7 other parties each have 10 % of the votes.
Notes
The European Parliament uses the D'Hondt system to distribute the most important posts, such as President and Vice-Presidents, Questors and Presidents of Committees and Interparliamentary Delegations. As a result of this system, small groups may be excluded from the most interesting posts. "
Rolling D´Hondt” is often used for distribution of seats in certain delegations and for the appointment of the chair and the vice-chairs in the European Parliament. Then smaller groups can have a fairer representation.
After the European elections in 2014 Socialists, Liberals and Christian Democrats decided to exclude EU-sceptics from being elected to committee chairs. They then took the posts for themselves.
