Belgium's 2024 local elections are around the corner. Brussels residents will vote to elect their local council on Sunday 13 October, and indirectly, their new mayor (bourgmestre in French or burgemeester in Dutch).
Knowing how the local election list system works is key to understanding who is running. Find all you need to know about lists here. Our practical guide will tell you everything you need to know before the big day.
Some numbers below are missing. This is because there are a total of 13 lists in Brussels, but not every list appears in every commune.
Current mayor: Fabrice Cumps (PS)
Current coalition: PS-Vooruit-Les Engagés, Ecolo-Groen, DéFI
Number of seats on the council: 47
Population: 126,581 (Statbel)
Average income: €12,965 (Statbel)
Average cost of housing: The average cost for a flat is €2,653/m², while the average cost for a house is €2,496/m² (Immoweb)
1. PS+Vooruit
Lead candidate: Fabrice Cumps (PS)
Number of candidates on the list: 48
Cleanliness: fight against illegal dumping through district managers, increase (underground) waste containers, better inform residents about waste collection services.
Security: strengthen local police to improve presence on the street for prevention purposes, end noise nuisance, street dealing and rowdy gatherings at night.
Mobility: accept failures on new 'Good Move' (particularly traffic filters) but support general idea of the mobility plan, continue dissuading through traffic, make public transport more fluid, preserve residential areas.
Housing: build more (social) housing along the canal on former industrial sites, ensure that everyone can find decent housing to reduce tension in densely populated neighbourhoods.
Full list programme here.
2. DéFI
Lead candidate: Kevin Charlier
Number of candidates on the list: 27
Cleanliness: efficient waste management through underground containers, impose more sanctions on illegal dumping, install more public and accessible toilets.
Security: combat theft, burglaries and street harassment by creating a network of cameras, starting with the neighbourhoods most affected by street crime.
Mobility: take control over implementation of mobility plans (Good Move was introduced in Cureghem by the Brussels Government).
Full list programme here.
4. Ecolo-Groen
Lead candidate: Nadia Kammachi (Ecolo)
Number of candidates on the list: 47
Security: strengthen link between police zone and municipal services, create new neighbourhood branches with a preventive-security focus, improve link between police and young people through participation schemes, run a street harassment awareness campaign.
Housing: guarantee access to decent housing, especially for single parents, combat substandard housing in collaboration with regional bodies and empty housing (including a census of empty buildings) while also supporting owners.
Social welfare: offer training for social workers and reception staff on mental health disorders, addictions, disabilities, recognising and dealing with violence, support elderly and vulnerable people.
Climate: combat heat islands by demineralising public spaces and allowing rainwater to infiltrate them, make façades greener, help the people of Anderlecht to reduce their CO2 emissions by using less energy-intensive food.
Full list programme here.
6. MR-Les Engagés-VLD-CD&V
Lead candidate: Gaëtan Van Goidsenhoven (MR)
Number of candidates on the list: 47
Cleanliness: strengthen the authorities dedicated to tracking down acts of uncleanliness, establish real surveillance patrols on the ground, introduce high penalties for non-compliance with public cleanliness.
Security: fight all forms of violence by strengthening community policing, training officers, and improving reception at police stations so every victim is heard and supported.
Administration: simplify administrative procedures and revitalise local commerce for traders, end property tax.
Mobility: actively involve residents in large urban projects, such as Good Move, instead of imposing measures from above.
Full list programme here.
9. N-VA
Lead candidate: Sander Robenek
Number of candidates on the list: 5
Security: zero-tolerance and punitive policy via administrative sanctions, establish Neighbourhood Information Networks, ensure a permanent police presence in "problem" neighbourhoods, strategic camera systems on all access roads.
Cleanliness: tougher sanctions, more community guards to impose sanctions, cameras to catch polluters red-handed and more undercover police services, as well as underground containers and intelligent public waste bins.
Mobility: establish smart traffic loops to ensure that transit traffic does not pass through residential areas or create unsafe situations for children walking/cycling to school.
Full list programme here.
11. Team Fouad Ahidar+1070
Lead candidate: Chadi Cherfan (Team Fouad Ahidar)
Number of candidates on the list: 47
The list does not specify priorities per commune; the following are for Brussels as a whole.
Cleanliness: install underground containers to combat littering, punish litterers severely, install more public toilets, new residents should receive a welcome pack with information on waste management, bulky waste and hygiene in Brussels.
Security and well-being: instead of seeing the police as an entity primarily focused on fines and financial penalties, they should emphasise raising awareness and creating opportunities, collaborate with local stakeholders such as youth workers and street workers, diversify local police force.
Housing: impose price cap on renting and buying housing with clear and identifiable criteria, prioritise access to social housing for single parents and people with disabilities.
Full list programme here.
13. PTB-PVDA
Lead candidate: Patricia Polanco
Number of candidates on the list: 40
Housing: rent indexation limit of 2% for municipal and social housing, ambitious policy to build (or renovate) modern public and social housing, introduce a progressive property tax: higher contributions from large landlords and companies, and reduce cadastral tax for small owners.
Security: accessible police stations that are also open at night and neighbourhood police officers recruited from the local community, more assistance, prevention and social monitoring by neighbourhood workers, youth workers and neighbourhood guards, zero tolerance for organised crime and a preventive approach for addiction.
Mobility: commit to free public transport across the region, take charge of parking management, fight against large-scale private car parks aimed only at profit and attracting more cars.
Full list programme here.
14. Anderlecht Autrement
Lead candidate: Mohamed Ouamara
Number of candidates on the list: 20
Security: increase the number of officers and police patrols, identify neighbourhood officers and clarify their roles, install video surveillance cameras in areas identified as problematic.
Housing: renovate abandoned (social) housing buildings, more checks on suspected and/or reported slum landlords.
Cleanliness: install video surveillance cameras in areas known for illegal dumping, step up maintenance around play areas and daycares, raise residents' awareness of cleanliness in the neighbourhood and punish littering more severely.
Full list programme here.
15. Collectif Citoyen
Lead candidate: Costakis Franghiadis
Number of candidates on the list: 4
Security: increase the number of prevention officers and police patrols, identify neighbourhood officers and clearly define their roles, install video surveillance cameras in "problem" areas, citizens can take part in neighbourhood meetings with the police to discuss security problems and propose solutions.
Cleanliness: door-to-door awareness-raising campaigns in the worst-affected neighbourhoods, organise activities in schools, install surveillance cameras in areas known for illegal dumping and impose harsher sanctions, citizens will be invited to take part in public consultations to identify problem areas and propose solutions.
Mobility: improve safety by maintaining roads, improving lighting at pedestrian crossings and creating safe infrastructure for people with reduced mobility, improve air quality by promoting soft mobility and traffic regulation, invite citizens to take part in public meetings on improving traffic flow and road safety.
Full list programme here.
