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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: with 30% of the votes, a majority of the seats can be obtained, but with only 10% of the votes no seats at all.

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 are excluded from the more interesting posts.
• With Rolling D´Hondt, vice-chairs are appointed because chairs and vice-chairs are distributed together.

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