The new make-up of the upper house of parliament, or senate, will be decided today by members of the 12 provincial councils, ANP reports.

The political divisions within the 75-seat senate will largely reflect the results of the provincial elections two months ago, when the CDA emerged as the biggest party with 25% of the vote. The Liberals (VVD) were second with 18.1%, Labour (PvdA) took 17.9% and the Socialists 14.8%.
The results mean that the current coalition of CDA, PvdA and orthodox ChristenUnie will have a slim majority in the upper house, making it unlikely legislation will run into difficulties.