Sanders will get one-third of the seats on platform committee: report

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders’s campaign will reportedly choose one-third of the seats on the committee that writes the Democratic Party platform, The Washington Post reported.

Party officials and the campaigns of Sanders and front-runner Hillary Clinton agreed that the Vermont senator will name five members of the 15-member committee. Clinton will name six. The apportionment is based on the number of popular votes each candidate has received.

“We believe that we will have the representation on the platform drafting committee to create a Democratic platform that reflects the views of millions of our supporters who want the party to address the needs of working families in this country and not just Wall Street, the drug companies, the fossil fuel industry and other powerful special interests,” Sanders said in a statement.

{mosads}Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz will choose the remaining four members.

According to DNC rules, the party chair can pick all 15 people who are on the committee, but the change was an effort to give Sanders supporters influence over the party platform, according to the Post.

Sanders has criticized Wasserman Schultz for months, saying she has made decisions, such as the number and time of debates, to benefit Clinton. He has also criticized the party’s use of superdelegates, which has given Clinton a large lead over Sanders.

Despite Clinton’s delegate lead, Sanders has vowed to remain in the race and keep fighting for delegates. He also hopes to shape the party’s platform to align with his own progressive politics, such as setting the minimum wage at $15.

–This report was updated at 3:04 p.m.