It’s often said that Brussels is a city of bubbles, a landing ground for diverse communities that make it the second-most cosmopolitan city in the world. More than one in three people living here are not Belgian, making it a place of many faces but where none claims cultural hegemony.
The breadth of backgrounds and languages is widely regarded as an asset – Mayor Philippe Close often says that expats are "what makes this city great". And despite being sandwiched between Flanders and Wallonia, the capital is certainly not a centre ground for Belgian political debate. It is non-conformist and independent, distinct in all aspects from the north and south of the country.
But when it comes to hearing the city's voice in the political arena, its international residents are muted by a lack of representation. Whether unaware that they are eligible, put off by perceived complexities in the procedure, or uncertain of who to vote for, the majority of foreign nationals residing in Brussels will have no influence in the municipal elections in October.
It's a democratic deficit that several civil organisations have devoted themselves to addressing, with energetic campaigns to engage residents in the runup to the registration deadline (31 July). On the one hand their efforts have been rewarded – for the first time over 50,000 non-Belgians have registered for the local elections in Brussels. Then again, this equates to just 7.7% of registered voters in the Capital Region.
Given the powers that local mayors have to deal with many of the most immediate issues that people face day to day, the lack of participation is problematic if locals cannot express their concerns to an elected representative.
The window for registering has now passed, though not without campaigners criticising the lack of framework to involve foreign nationals. After all, if the tapestry of nationalities brings so much to daily life in Brussels (and Belgium more broadly), surely local politics would also benefit from this plurality of voices?
Will you be voting in the local elections? Let @Orlando_tbt know.
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