News item | 08-09-2023 | 2:15 PM
The Electoral Council will be given additional tasks and powers to further promote the quality of the election process. At the proposal of Minister De Jonge of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, the Council of Ministers has agreed to send the bill for quality improvement of the implementation of the election process to the Council of State for advice. This bill makes the Electoral Council responsible for supporting municipalities and polling stations in carrying out their tasks surrounding the elections. In addition, the Electoral Council will be given additional tasks and powers to assess whether elections are conducted correctly.
The Electoral Council is the most important advisor in the field of elections and the electoral process. Tasks that are currently carried out by the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations to support municipalities in organizing elections will be shifted to the Electoral Council with this bill. Due to the expertise of the Electoral Council in the field of elections and their independent position as an independent administrative body, the Electoral Council is the appropriate body to fulfill this task. The expansion of tasks for the Electoral Council is an important part of the 2030 Election Agenda drawn up by the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, VNG, NVVB and Electoral Council.
Minister De Jonge: “In our democracy, casting your vote is the way to influence what happens in our country. That is why we must set the highest standards for the election process and continue to ask ourselves how it can be improved. Voters must be able to rest assured that they are casting their votes in elections that are reliable, verifiable and transparent. As an independent expert, the Electoral Council is the ideal party to maintain confidence in the election process.”
New tasks and powers
The bill stipulates that the Electoral Council will be responsible for:
- Providing support in the organization of elections, including instructions and quality standards prior to elections.
- Checking whether the Electoral Act is being acted upon during the elections and making adjustments based on this if necessary.
- Assessing the conduct of the election, through reporting and advice afterwards.
In addition to these new responsibilities, the Electoral Council remains the central electoral committee in national elections for the members of the House of Representatives, the Senate and the Dutch representation in the European Parliament. The Electoral Council also continues to advise the government and the States General on the election process and implementation technical matters of electoral law.
Follow-up process
The Advisory Department of the Council of State provides advice on the bill to the Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations. After processing this advice, the bill, together with a response to this advice (a further report), will be submitted to the House of Representatives for parliamentary consideration.