Residents across Belgium will this weekend elect their municipal councils.
In Brussels, more non-Belgians than ever before have signed up to vote. If you are voting this weekend, you might be wondering exactly how it works. What should you do if you’re away? And where you can find out who is a candidate in your area?
To help with such queries, the office of the Brussels Commissioner for Europe and the International Organisations has come up with some guidance.
It is pointed out that non-Belgians in Brussels have to right to vote in local elections.
Results show that
– The total number of non-Belgian people who signed up in the Brussels Region exceeds 50,000 for the first time.
– The sign-up rate for EU nationals increased from 16.75% in 2018 to 17.09% in 2024.
– The rate for non-EU nationals fell from 19.27% to 13.25%.
– International Brusselers make up 7.7% of voters, and more than one in ten in four municipalities (Saint-Gilles, Ixelles, Saint-Josse and Etterbeek).
A spokesman said, “It’s a complex picture, but all the organisations and individuals who contributed to the campaign should be very proud of their hard work and impact. Meanwhile, the thousands of International Brusselers heading out to vote this weekend can be sure that their votes will make a real difference in the results.”
If you’re voting in the Brussels-Capital Region, your polling station will be open from 08.00 – 16.00 and you will be voting electronically (on a screen).
Three suggested top tips:
- Make sure to take your convocation letter and your ID card with you. The address of your polling station is on the letter.
- Voting is obligatory*. If you cannot vote in person, arrange your proxy vote now. If you have signed up and received a convocation, you are now expected to attend (although you can spoil your ballot or vote blank). If you need to travel or work this Sunday, or if you fall ill, you can nominate a proxy to vote on your behalf. You will need to get the form signed by your employer, doctor or the municipality, so start preparing now.
Unless you live in Flanders, where the obligation to vote has been dropped for municipal elections.
- Decide whether you’ll vote for a list or for specific candidates. You can vote for one list as a whole. Or you can support one or more individual candidates inside the same list, giving them an extra chance to win a seat. It’s your choice. But you cannot vote for candidates from more than one list, because that will make your vote invalid.
“For help on candidates and parties you are advised by the commissioner to check out the lists and candidates who are standing for election in your municipality. The website of your municipality should have published the lists by now.
“The choice of lists can differ greatly from one municipality to another, so make sure you know what you’ll see when you cast your vote. Unlike at regional level, there are no linguistic blocs in municipal councils.
“Many lists will therefore be bilingual – combining candidates from Francophone and Dutch language parties. You might also see joint lists of multiple parties, local interest groups which don’t belong to a national party, or a “Mayor’s List” (Liste du Bourgmestre) led by the current mayor. These arrangements are all specific to each municipality, so make sure to check your local options in advance,” said the spokesman.
