III. Electoral system

D. The system of representation for municipal councils

The municipal councils are elected from a constituency covering the municipality under a proportional election system with a possibility of a preference vote (open list voting).27 The method used for allocating seats is the largest remainders with Hare’s quota and a threshold equal to this quota. A candidate may benefit from the preference system if he/she obtains at least seven per cent of the municipal electoral quota.28 In paragraph 4.4 of Annex No 5, it is stated that a political party will only win as many seats as it has candidates. However, there is no rule for redistributing remaining seats if there are some; this may indicate that such seats remain vacant. If that is the intention, it should be stated explicitly.