{ Adopted: 17 Feb 1983 / Status: 1989 }
Every Dutch national shall have an equal right to elect the members of the general representative bodies and to stand for election as a member of those bodies, subject to the limitations and exceptions prescribed by Act of Parliament.
(1) The members of both Chambers shall be elected by proportional representation within the limits to be laid down by Act of Parliament.
(2) Elections shall be by secret ballot.
(1) The members of the Second Chamber shall be elected directly by the Dutch nationals who have attained the age of eighteen, with the exception of any Dutch nationals who may be excluded by Act of Parliament by virtue of the fact that they are not resident in the Netherlands.
(2) The following persons shall not be entitled to vote:
(a) anyone who has committed an offence designated by Act of Parliament and has been sentenced as a result by irrevocable judgement of a court of law to a custodial sentence of not less than one year and simultaneously disqualified from voting;
(b) anyone who has been deemed legally incompetent by irrevocable judgement of a court because of mental disorder.
To be eligible for membership of the Parliament, a person must be a Dutch national, must have attained the age of eighteen years and must not have been disqualified from voting.
(1) No one may be a member of both Chambers.
(2) A member of the Parliament may not be a Minister, State Secretary, member of the Council of State, member of the General Chamber of Audit, member of the Supreme Court, or Procurator General or Advocate General at the Supreme Court.
(3) Notwithstanding the above, a Minister or State Secretary who has offered to tender his resignation may combine the said office with membership of the Parliament until such time as a decision is taken on such resignation.
(4) Other public functions which may not be held simultaneously by a person who is a member of the Parliament or of one of the Chambers may be designated by Act of Parliament.
Each Chamber shall examine the credentials of its newly appointed members and shall decide with due reference to rules to be established by Act of Parliament any disputes arising in connection with the credentials or the election.
(1) The members of provincial and municipal councils shall be directly elected by Dutch nationals resident in the province or municipality as the case may be who satisfy the requirements laid down for elections to the Second Chamber of the Parliament. The same conditions apply to membership.
(2) The members shall be elected by proportional representation within the boundaries to be laid down by Act of Parliament.
(3) Articles 53 (2) and 59 shall apply.
(4) The duration of provincial and municipal councils shall be four years unless otherwise provided for by Act of Parliament.
(5) The positions which may not be held simultaneously with membership shall be specified by Act of Parliament. The Act may also provide that obstacles to membership will arise from family ties or marriage and that the commission of certain acts designated by Act of Parliament may result in loss of membership.
(6) The members shall not be bound by a mandate or instructions when casting their votes.
The right to elect members of a municipal council and the right to be a member of a municipal council may be granted by Act of Parliament to residents who are not Dutch nationals provided they fulfil at least the requirements applicable to residents who are Dutch nationals.
[Chapter 9] Additional Articles
(1) As long as the right of Dutch nationals who are not residents of the Netherlands to vote in elections to the Second Chamber of the Parliament is not compatible with the Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Article 54 (1) shall read:
'The members of the Second Chamber shall be directly elected by Dutch nationals who are resident in the Netherlands and have attained the age of eighteen'.
(2) The time at which Article 54 (1) shall enter into force in the version referred to above shall be laid down by Royal Decree.
As long as the age at which statutory minority ends has not been lowered to eighteen years, members of provincial and municipal councils shall be required, notwithstanding Article 129 (1), to have attained the age of twenty-one. The point at which the exception to Article 129 referred to in the previous sentence shall cease to apply shall be laid down by Royal Decree.