It is a proportional formula for the allocation of seats
in which the results obtained by the different parties
are divided
by the number of seats to be distributed in the district.
The seats are allocated to the highest coefficients
until the total number to be distributed is reached.
The formula was designed in the 19th century by Victor D´Hondt,
a Belgian jurist and amateur mathematician,
and it is applied in many countries, including Spain.
It is used in elections to Congress,
the European Parliament, regional and municipal elections.
Only in the Senate elections is a different formula used.
It is often criticised because if we compare
the percentages of votes and seats,
we see that it benefits the majority parties,
which obtain more seats than would otherwise correspond to them.
Though there are slightly more proportional formulas,
it is not its fault,
but rather its combination with the small sizes
of a large number of districts.
Or can we expect a region like Soria,
which elects 2 deputies, to be proportional
with any formula we could choose?
It would be like the multiplication of the fish and the loaves.
Something similar could be said
for the rest of the districts.
In only 6 of them were
more than 10 deputies elected in the most recent general elections.