Westerwolde (municipality)

Westerwolde () is a municipality in the province of Groningen in the northeast of the Netherlands.
The municipalities of Bellingwedde and Vlagtwedde have merged into the new municipality of Westerwolde on 1 January 2018. The municipality continues to use both municipal halls in Sellingen and Wedde.
Geography.
The municipality is located in the southeast of the province of Groningen at the border with Drenthe and in the northeast of the Netherlands at the border with Germany. Neighbouring municipalities in the Netherlands are Oldambt in the north, Pekela and Stadskanaal in the west, Borger-Odoorn in the southwest, and Emmen in the south. Neighbouring municipalities in Germany are Bunde in the northeast, Rhede, Dörpen, and Lathen in the east, and Haren in the southeast.
Politics.
On 22 November 2017, municipal elections were held to elect the members of the municipal council of Westerwolde. The result is shown in the table below. The municipal council will have 19 seats, because the population size was just under 25,000 in 2017.