Citizens of the other EU member states that wish to vote in Belgium for the European Elections on 9 June have until midnight on Sunday to register.
Voters from other EU countries have until Sunday to register to vote in Belgium for the European elections
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EU citizens that wish to have the right to vote in Belgium for the candidates that are standing here for election to the European Parliament. However, unlike Belgian nationals that are registered automatically and are obliged by law to turn up at the polling station. Nationals of the other 26 EU member states must first register in order to vote here. Once registered they too are obliged to go to the polling station.
The deadline for online registration is this coming Sunday, 31 March. Those wishing to register by filling in a paper registration form have until Friday to do so.
Just 8.4% registered in 2019
Figures from the Brussels-Capital Region show that at the last European Elections in 2019 just 8.4% of citizens of other EU countries that live in Brussels registered to vote here. Although this is an increase on the 7.6% that registered in 2014 it is still a relatively low figure. Bryn Watkins works for the Brussels Office for Europe and the International Institutions. He told the Brussels regional news platform Bruzz that there could be several reasons why the participation rate remains so low.
“Some people are ill-informed, others don’t understand the Belgian party system, while others have difficulty with the registration procedure. The fact that in Belgium people are obliged to go to the polling station also puts a brake on people registering”.
Mr Watkins hopes passionately that more EU citizens will register this time around. “8.4% is really very low, but it is the norm. Participation is very low amongst people that have moved from one EU country to another. They are able to either vote in their home country or in the country in which they live. In 2019 only 20% of them voted in their home country and 10% in the country where they live”.
Citizens of other EU countries can also already register to vote in the municipal elections that will be held on 13 October. EU citizens to wish to vote in the municipal elections have until 31 July to register. Non-EU citizens that have lived continuously in Belgium for at least 5 years can also register to vote in the municipal elections.