Home > 1.2.3 Equality and national minorities > REPORT ON CONSTITUENCY DELINEATION AND SEAT ALLOCATION
 
 
 
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Paragraph 45
 

The Venice Commission’s Code of Good Practice on Electoral Matters (Code of Good Practice) Section I.2.2.-2.4. A key guideline given in the Code are equal votingpower through the even distribution of seats among constituencies, which should be applicable at least to elections to lower houses of parliament and regional and local councils. The Code also proposes criteria for the allocation of seats to constituencies. These can be population or number of registered voters, but with a variation of not more than 10 percent except in special circumstances. The distribution of seats must be reviewed at least every 10 years, preferably outside election periods. Moreover, the Code states that delimitation should be done impartially, without detriment to national minorities, taking account of the opinion of a committee, the majority of whose members are independent and should preferably include a geographer, a sociologist and a balanced representation of the parties and, if necessary, representatives of national minorities.