The Liberal democrats (D66) are relaunching their campaign to stop mayors being technically appointed by the queen and bring in direct elections.

The party is submitting two motions which would alter the constitution and bring in elected mayors, the Volkskrant reported on Thursday.
D66 parliamentarian Gerard Schouw says he hopes the proposal will be supported by the non-religious parties in parliament. An earlier attempt to introduce elected mayors in 2005 failed to generate majority support in parliament.
Schouw told the paper the Netherlands is the only country in Europe where mayors are not elected. He says the position of mayors is undermined by the fact they are crown appointees and are not democratically accountable.