Binding referendums one way to boost trust in Dutch political system
6 years, 3 months ago

Binding referendums one way to boost trust in Dutch political system

Dutch News  

The Dutch parliamentary system is outdated and urgent action needs to be taken to ensure a large percentage of the population again feel represented, according to a government commission set up to look at reforms. The commission, under the leadership of Noord-Holland king’s commissioner Johan Remkes, has been studying the situation for two years and concludes that updates to the current electoral system are needed. However, the gap between the well-educated and low-skilled has become wider, the country is more culturally diverse and people are more likely to speak their mind due to digitalisation, the commission said. Home affairs minister Kajsa Ollongren said in an initial reaction that the cabinet would take up the challenge and that she hoped for a broad public debate.

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History of this topic

Personal votes should carry more weight in elections, says reform committee
5 years, 8 months ago

Personal votes should carry more weight in elections, says reform committee

Dutch News  

The government is considering plans to give more weight to votes for individual candidates in Dutch elections so that MPs have a stronger personal mandate. A committee convened last December to look at constitutional reform recommended the measure as a way of creating stronger links between voters and their elected representatives. Voters would also have more options on the ballot …

Binding referendums one way to boost trust in Dutch political system
6 years, 3 months ago

Binding referendums one way to boost trust in Dutch political system

Dutch News  

The Dutch parliamentary system is outdated and urgent action needs to be taken to ensure a large percentage of the population again feel represented, according to a government commission set up to look at reforms. The commission, under the leadership of Noord-Holland king’s commissioner Johan Remkes, has been studying the situation for two years and concludes that updates to the …

Binding referendums would strengthen democracy, says gov't commission
6 years, 9 months ago

Binding referendums would strengthen democracy, says gov't commission

Dutch News  

A commission set up to look at ways of boosting confidence in the Dutch parliamentary system is recommending the introduction of a binding referendum. But the commission, which published preliminary findings on Thursday, says a binding referendum would be a ‘good safety valve’ when it comes to dealing with controversial issues. The commission, led by former minister Johan Remkes, has …

Binding referendums would strengthen democracy, says gov't commission
6 years, 9 months ago

Binding referendums would strengthen democracy, says gov't commission

Dutch News  

A commission set up to look at ways of boosting confidence in the Dutch parliamentary system is recommending the introduction of a binding referendum. But the commission, which published preliminary findings on Thursday, says a binding referendum would be a ‘good safety valve’ when it comes to dealing with controversial issues. The commission, led by former minister Johan Remkes, has …

Half of Dutch want referendum on new organ donor law
6 years, 11 months ago

Half of Dutch want referendum on new organ donor law

NL Times  

Just over half - 52 percent - of Dutch voters are in favor of holding a referendum on the new organ donation law, according to the weekly poll by Maurice de Hond. The new law, a D66 initiative, basically states that if you as a Dutch adult do not explicitly opt out of being an organ donor, you will be …

Referendums a threat to democracy: Dutch Council of State
7 years, 11 months ago

Referendums a threat to democracy: Dutch Council of State

NL Times  

The thoughtless use of referendums and other forms of "people's democracy" sooner or later undermines the functioning of the Dutch representative democracy and the rule of law, according to Piet Hein Donner, the vice president of the Netherlands most important advisory body the Council of State, in the Council's annual report, the Volkskrant reports. "European integration, Atlantic safety, the democratic …

PVV wants four binding referendums a year
8 years, 6 months ago

PVV wants four binding referendums a year

NL Times  

The PVV wants to hold four binding referendums a year in the Netherlands. The Netherlands introduced consultative referendums in the country last year. Not only does the party want referendums to be binding, but Wilders also wants the public to be able to chose a topic on which to hold a referendum. According to Wilders, citizens have less and less …

Citizens initiative fails to win parliament's support for EU referendum
11 years, 1 month ago

Citizens initiative fails to win parliament's support for EU referendum

Dutch News  

Efforts by a so-called citizens’ initiative to hold a referendum in the Netherlands if more powers are to be transferred to Brussels failed to win majority support in parliament on Tuesday night. More than 63,000 people signed a petition calling for a debate on the EU’s powers which, it said, are having an impact on the ‘core of Dutch democracy’. …

Citizens initiative fails to win parliament's support for EU referendum
11 years, 1 month ago

Citizens initiative fails to win parliament's support for EU referendum

Dutch News  

Efforts by a so-called citizens’ initiative to hold a referendum in the Netherlands if more powers are to be transferred to Brussels failed to win majority support in parliament on Tuesday night. More than 63,000 people signed a petition calling for a debate on the EU’s powers which, it said, are having an impact on the ‘core of Dutch democracy’. …

Politicians don’t listen, poll concludes
18 years, 4 months ago

Politicians don’t listen, poll concludes

Dutch News  

An online poll of over 170,000 people has shown broad support for a wide range of social and economic reforms – even though half still don’t know who to vote for in the forthcoming general election. Just over half support moves to make it easier to sack staff – as long as employers do more to retrain affected workers, a …

Politicians don’t listen, poll concludes
18 years, 4 months ago

Politicians don’t listen, poll concludes

Dutch News  

An online poll of over 170,000 people has shown broad support for a wide range of social and economic reforms – even though half still don’t know who to vote for in the forthcoming general election. Just over half support moves to make it easier to sack staff – as long as employers do more to retrain affected workers, a …

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