Despite the growing attention around the need for non-Belgians to register to vote ahead of the elections next weekend, Brussels' local democracy is at risk and "the democratic deficit" is growing, according to the non-profit campaign group VoteBrussels.
While the number of eligible international voters in the Brussels-Capital Region increased by nearly 30,000 people, the non-Belgian voter registration rate has dropped nearly a third (from 17% to 12%), according to VoteBrussels' analysis of recent figures published by the Belgian Interior Ministry.
"This is because communes have not been registering newcomers as voters and the communal and Regional authorities have not engaged in ongoing voter information," Thomas Huddleston of VoteBrussels told The Brussels Times.
There are a total of 314,986 potential voters (which amounts to 34% of the electorate). Of them, 77% (24,3025) are citizens from another EU Member State, while 23% (71,961) are non-EU citizens with over five years of residence in Belgium.
Brussels democracy cannot wait
"Research repeatedly demonstrates that most Brussels international residents have not registered to vote for the local elections because they did not get the right information on how to sign up easily and why their vote matters," Huddleston said.
To rectify that, the Brussels Regional Parliament adopted a resolution calling for facilitated and ongoing voter registration at the start of May. Whether this reform will be implemented, however, will depend on Brussels' new coalition government after the elections.
"But in the meantime, Brussels democracy cannot wait," he added. "Belgium is a world leader in voter turnout but soon Brussels – the democratic world's most cosmopolitan city – may be heading for a democratic deficit with October’s local elections, where the majority of residents may not be represented or voting."
People read the displayed voting ballots with the election lists, at a polling station in Koekelberg, Brussels, Sunday 26 May 2019. Credit: Belga / Hatim Kaghat
Across all 19 Brussels municipalities, a third of all potential voters are non-Belgians. In certain municipalities, such as Etterbeek, Ixelles and Saint-Gilles, that number even increases to nearly half the population.
But the numbers in less obvious municipalities are high as well: in Woluwe-Saint-Pierre and Woluwe-Saint-Lambert the number of potential non-Belgian voters makes up 34% and 35% of the electorate, respectively. In Koekelberg and Uccle, it's both 31%, In Schaerbeek 36% and in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode the percentage is as high as 41%.
"If these people do not come out to vote, city councillors can get elected with just a few hundred votes from 'their' electors, rather than respond to and reach out to an entire municipality," Huddleston said. "We want the Belgian authorities to realise that they have a stake in the game: outreach to international voters would improve their democracy."
Power in numbers
For international voters, he pointed out the importance of understanding the power in their numbers. "Many internationals think they are alone in Brussels, but half of the potential electorate in Saint-Gilles or Ixelles, for example, are internationals."
"They care about their municipality and the entire region, they have ideas and contributions. When they understand that, they start to realise that they are Brussels, and Brussels is them," Huddleston added. "Grasping the numbers can be very empowering for people to realise that they are important for the democracy of the city they live in."
One of Belgium's issues is that it has one of the earliest voter registration deadlines for non-Belgians in all the EU countries: 90 days before the elections. The problem is that most people only sign up in the weeks right before the elections.
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"So this deadline three months ahead of the elections cuts out many first-time voters and young people," he said. "The average person only gets interested in the elections once the campaigns start and they know who the candidates are."
In Belgium particularly, local voters have more political power and choices than almost anywhere else in Europe, Huddleston stressed. "The 2024 elections in Brussels are very competitive and close, so a lot could change in your municipality, after the regional elections in June as well as after the local ones in October."
