On Sunday 13 October Belgium goes to the polls for the second time this year. After the European, federal and regional elections in June, it is now Belgium’s municipal and provincial councils that need to be renewed.
Who can vote?
All Belgians aged 18 and over can vote both for their local council and the provincial council. EU and non-EU nationals who registered beforehand can vote in the municipal elections (and in the district elections up in Antwerp) but not in the provincial elections.
Is voting obligatory?
For the first time, there is no obligation to attend a polling station in Flanders. This means people in Flanders are free to choose whether or not to go to the polling station and vote. Unlike in previous elections Flemings will not have received a voting card obliging them to attend a polling place but rather an invitation to vote.
In Brussels and Wallonia, however, attending a polling station remains compulsory. What you do after you have reported there is up to you.
Municipalities are obliged to dispatch voting cards by Saturday 28 September at the latest. Belgians over 18 and others who have registered to vote should receive their invitation by the end of September or early October at the latest.
Where and when can I go and vote?
If you are voting, you will attend a polling place in your own municipality. The voting card sent to you by your municipality will tell you where you need to be.
Polling stations are open from 8am. The closing time depends on how the vote is organised. In municipalities where votes are cast on paper ballots, polling stations close at 1 pm. In municipalities where electronic voting occurs, you can turn up until 3pm. The opening hours are mentioned on your invitation.
What are the elections about?
In the municipal elections, the municipal council of our hometown is elected. The number of councillors depends on the size of your municipality. The bigger your municipality, the more councillors on the municipal council.
In the provincial council elections the provincial coucil og the province where you live is elected. Again: the number of provincial councillors depends on the size of your province. The bigger your province, the more councillors there will be on the provincial council.
Residents of Antwerp City can also vote for members of their district council. Each Antwerp district has its own council that sets policies in a limited number of fields: sports, youth, culture, seniors and the layout of (part of) the streets.
Do you live in a municipality around Brussels with special rights for language minorities, the so called ‘facilities’? Then you also directly elect aldermen, the social services council and a permanent office.
Municipalities with facilities
This is the collective name for the 12 Flemish municipalities with special language rights for the lanuage minority, 6 municipalities on the outskirts of Brussels and 6 language border municipalities. These municipalities form an exception to Flanders’ monolingual status. In these municipalities communications between the local government and residents can be conducted in French if certain conditions are met.
The six municipalities in the Flemish borderlands around Brussels are: Drogenbos, Kraainem, Linkebeek, Sint-Genesius-Rode, Wemmel and Wezembeek-Oppem.
What do municipal and provincial councils actually do?
Municipal councils take the big decisions about issues in your town or city. The council consists of a chairman (often the mayor, but not always) and municipal councillors who are directly elected in local elections. The municipal council can introduce new regulations, draw up the local budget and keep tabs on the city cabinet (which has to implement the municipal council's policies). The municipal council also decides which alderman or city cabinet members are appointed.
Every Belgian province also has its provincial council. Its members are also directly elected. The council determines the policy of the province, keeps tabs on the ‘deputation’ (the body that deals with the day-to-day administration of the province) and consults with the Flemish government with regard to plans that affect the whole province. The provincial council usually meets once a month. At the head of each council is a chairman. He or she should not be confused with the provincial governor, who heads the deputation.