The Farmers BBB could win 18 seats in tomorrow’s Senate election

After Tuesday’s election, the Farmers BBB is certain to become the largest party in the Senate. The party is almost certain to win 17 seats. But with the cooperation of other parties, the number could rise to 18, according to calculations by the ANP’s Electoral Authority.

The Dutch Senate, the Eerste Kamel, is elected by 12 provincial councils, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Sabah Electoral Fellowships, as well as a new electoral college that votes on behalf of Dutch citizens abroad. A total of 616 members will vote en masse on Tuesday at 3:00 pm.

Each vote is awarded a certain number of points depending on the number of residents. For example, voting in South Holland gives 692 points, while voting in Saba gives 4 points. A total of 178,970 points will be distributed. Each Senate seat he is worth 2,386.27 points.

Local council members are not obliged to vote for their own political party. This system makes trading possible. Political parties may have extra votes that they can give to other parties without losing seats. Parties with slots in this election include the Dutch Onafankerik Political Party (OPNL). Regional parties have collaborated on her OPNL, and some parties have negotiated with the BBB for joining the state coalition. OPNL effectively occupies one seat in the Senate. For example, it is acceptable for a regional party to lose two votes in Zeeland, one in North Brabant and one in Drenthe.

Political parties such as PVV and JA21 have more leeway. If the BBB can win enough votes from other parties on Tuesday, it could win a new seat in the Senate.

What works for BBB naturally works for other parties as well. For example, D66 helps provide additional seats for the coalition Panther Party VVD and ChristenUnie. And the CDA could prevent D66 from losing seats as a result.