The d'Hondt system of allocating ministries in the Stormont Assembly is named after the 19th-century Belgian lawyer, Victor d'Hondt. Parties are initially ranked according to the number of seats won in the Assembly elections.
The party with the highest number of seats is the first to receive a ministry. Its seat total is divided by two, and that party rejoins the queue for further posts. If it receives a second ministry, its original seat total is then divided by three, and the party takes its place in the rank to receive a possible third executive post. The process continues until all ministerial positions have been allocated.
When the d'Hondt system is applied to the allocation of the 10 vacant ministerial posts the distribution is a follows: UUP, 3; SDLP, 3; Sinn Fein, 2; DUP, 2.
A version of the d'Hondt procedure is also used in the Japanese political system.