Abstract

Earlier research pointed out that the processing of the results of the municipal council elections shows a serious distorsion favouring the strongest lists and prejudicing the weaker ones. The Belgian Parliament will discuss at an early date two different proposals of law on that problem. One prefers the "D'Hondt"-method, the other suggests the "Niemeyer"-technique, which is used in Germany. Both systems seem to be more proportional than the "Imperiali"-way. However, the "Niemeyer"-technique is not always able to transform an absolute majority of votes into a majority of seats in the municipal councils. A modification of the seatsdistributionsystem will seriously reduce the number of absolute majorities in the municipal councils. This could pose problems of political and administrative stability in local government. A modification will also produce negative ejfects on the positions of the christian-democrats in Flanders and the socialists and christian-democrats in the Walloons. Nearly all the other parties and particularly the small ones will improve their positions.