Voting in Belgium

Only a couple of thousand votes determine the outcome of the elections in Leuven, so if all the internationals voted, it could have a decisive effect on who wins. Belgians are signed up automatically, but internationals have to actively register to vote.

Talking about voting can be a tricky subject - here are some top tips inspired by our guest speaker Dr Thomas Huddleston.

In 2024, international Leuvenaars could have up to 14.7% of the voter share – the last time, the winner and runner-up were only 3.7% apart.

We've crunched the numbers: internationals are the swing vote locally.

Here's a snapshot about the roles and responsibilities of local government, and just how much they influence daily life in your area.

We hear many questions and rumours about voting in Belgium - here are some of the most common questions and answers

Only a couple of thousand votes determine the outcome of the elections in Leuven, so if all the internationals voted, it could have a decisive effect on who wins. Belgians are signed up automatically, but internationals have to actively register to vote.

The Bulletin's take on why it's important to vote in the municipal elections - this is Brussels-centric, but still relevant for internationals elsewhere in Belgium.

Belgian politics is complicated and in 2024, the Belgians took to the polls for EU, Federal and Regional elections. Here's the Brussels Times explainer about those levels. Note: these are the levels above the local (municipal) elections that will take place in October!

VRT's political journalist Tim Pauwels explores the numbers around how many non-EU citizens come to Belgium legally each year and dives deeper into what we know about their demographics.

Flander's state-funded broadcaster VRT has a page all about the 2024 elections. We'd like to draw your attention to halfway down the page, where political journalist Ivan De Vadder explains each Belgian party in a one-minute video. A great place to start getting to know the Belgian landscape.