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: Philippe Close (PS)
Current coalition: PS - Ecolo-Groen - DéFI - Vooruit
Number of seats on the council: 49
Population: 196,828 (Statbel)
Average income: €14,384 (Statbel)
Average cost of housing: The average price for a flat is €3,161/m2, while the average cost for a house is €2,797/m2 (Immoweb)
1. PS - Vooruit
Lead candidate: Philippe Close
Number of candidates on the list: 49
Cleanliness: Better coordination between cleaning services, especially in parks, on pavements, and playgrounds. Community managers will respond to complaints swiftly. Install underground waste containers, with priority to organic waste. Fines will be issued more quickly to offenders.
Mobility: Encourage walking and cycling over short distances and protect residential areas from through traffic. Tramlines must be extended and buses electrified. Free up public space by promoting car-sharing and rental scooters. Adapt infrastructure to accommodate people with reduced mobility.
Security: A strong and visible local police force that people trust. Prioritise tackling antisocial behaviour – especially street racing, excessive noise, and illegal waste dumping. Problem areas will be regularly patrolled with surveillance cameras installed.
Education: Increase school capacity with two new schools built in Laeken and Tour&Taxis. Ensure all classes have a qualified teacher – particularly for pupils with special educational needs. Classrooms should also be equipped with up-to-date technology to improve digital literacy.
Housing: 25% of new developments will be for public housing. Empty properties will be identified and occupancy encouraged through subsidies and penalties. Stricter regulations to stop Airbnb from distorting the private rental market.
Full list programme here.
2. DéFI&Vous
Lead candidate: Fabian Maingain
Number of candidates on the list: 49
Cleanliness: Cleaner streets through underground containers for more efficient waste management, better-sanctioned fly-tipping, and public and accessible toilets.
Security: To combat crime such as theft, burglaries and street harassment, it is essential to create a network of cameras in the municipalities, starting with the neighbourhoods most affected by street crime.
Mobility: Banning cars without any credible alternative is not realistic for the party, and municipalities should have the final say in the definition and implementation of mobility plans (Good Move was introduced in Cureghem by the Regional Government).
Full list programme here.
4. Ecolo-Groen
Lead candidate: Benoit Hellings
Number of candidates on the list: 49
Housing: Using buildings that are disused or outdated to create housing fit for a changing climate. 2,000 social housing units will be prioritised and energy-saving renovations implemented.
Mobility: Promote active mobility that is convenient, with "mobility hubs" around metro stations to increase multi-modality.
Health: Guarantee access to healthcare with sufficient funding for public hospitals and free psychological support for under-25s. Promote healthy eating at all ages, with organic meals provided in crèches, schools, hospitals, and care homes. Make sport accessible by ensuring that homes have recreational space and sports grounds within 300m.
Full list programme here.
6. MR+
Lead candidate: David Weytsman
Number of candidates on the list: 49
Cleanliness: Reform the Brussels Cleanliness Agency (ABP) with an institutional framework that incorporates private sector expertise. Modernise waste collection with better processing of organic waste. Penalise offenders with a zero-tolerance policy.
Security: Increase police presence with more patrols and officers trained to tackle specific offences (such as aggression towards LGBTQ+ persons). Promote greater respect for forces of law and order and step up the fight on drug trafficking and urban criminality.
Mobility: Put residents at the heart of transport policy discussions to prevent local push-back and ensure changes to traffic plans are widely accepted. Boost public transport and encourage cycling by dealing with the problem areas that put people off riding in the city.
Full list programme here.
8. Les Engagés-CD&V
Lead candidate: Didier Wauters
Number of candidates on the list: 49
Health: Prioritise prevention by increasing the number of doctors and reducing the costs to the patient. Shifting drug policy from repression to a matter of public health. End homelessness by 2030.
Security: Add 842 police officers and ensure that security personnel are present on the STIB network.
Mobility: Rethink Good Move to resolve tensions between communes and the Brussels Region.
Environment: Monitor and improve air and water quality. Forbid commercial advertising in the public space. Limit flights over Brussels.
Full list programme here.
9. N-VA
Lead candidate: Mathias Vanden Borre
Number of candidates on the list: 13
Security: A tough stance on policing, with more officers and stricter policies to prevent crime.
Environment: Investment in clean streets and green spaces, with a focus on illegal waste tipping.
Brussels, the Flemish capital: Not only is Brussels the capital of Belgium, the city should also be the proud capital of Flanders and take an active role in the region's language and culture.
Full list programme here.
10. Vlaams Belang
Lead candidate: Sonja Hoylaerts
Number of candidates on the list: 10
Restore law and order: Zero tolerance for public drug use. Increase police presence. Disperse groups of young people loitering in public spaces and shut down illegal businesses. Involve locals in affairs of public safety by creating local prevention partnerships.
End mass immigration: Stop the woke agenda that has changed the face of Brussels and threatens our way of life. Ban all philosophical and religious symbols in public services. Create a separate police brigade to track down "illegal" immigrants. Set up an "illegality hotline" for police districts. Stop allowing new migrants to settle and prioritise our culture through public support.
Cleanliness: Reintroduce white bin bag collection twice a week. Use surveillance cameras to find and punish those who dump waste illegally. Build underground waste containers. Improve coordination of municipal waste services.
Mobility: Evaluate Good Move mobility plan and end it if necessary. Free resident cards for families and reduced parking fees. Closer collaboration with locals during major construction projects. Quality and safe public transport, free from petty crime, drug taking, and begging.
Full list programme here.
11. Team Fouad Ahidar-BXL+
Lead candidate: Mourad Maimouni
Number of candidates on the list: 49
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 and quickly, install more public toilets, and send new residents a welcome pack with detailed information on waste management, bulky waste and hygiene in Brussels.
Security and well-being: Police should focus on raising awareness and creating opportunities rather than only on punishment, collaborate with local actors such as youth workers and street workers to prevent crime, and represent the diversity of Brussels within the local police force.
Housing: Introduce a price cap on renting and buying housing with clear and identifiable criteria, give single parents and people with disabilities priority access to social housing.
Full list programme here.
13. PTB-PVDA
Lead candidate: Bruno Bauwens
Number of candidates on the list: 38
Right to housing: Housing should not be a commercial enterprise but a public good. Brussels residents should not have to spend half their earnings on rent. The rental market should be managed by a public authority which works to make rent more affordable. Brussels needs more public housing.
Boost employment: Brussels needs to create more jobs; this should be done by the commune, by investing in public services. Notably, Brussels should create a public construction company that would also renovate and insulate buildings. This would create around 450 jobs.
Financial health: Reduce costs for residents by lowering taxes, rolling out free day-care centres, limiting rent indexation to 2%. Larger businesses should bear a greater tax burden: for instance supermarkets, office landlords, or Airbnb landlords. This will allow small independent businesses to grow.
Climate: Make green energy cheaper, boost home insulation, increase public transport. In almost all cases cars should not be needed in the city; a public car-sharing scheme can be used when necessary.
Full list programme here.
14. Vista CollectifCitoyen
Lead candidate: Jan Wostyn
Number of candidates on the list: 8
Security: Greater powers for police by strengthening patrols and increasing sanctions.
Cleanliness: Conduct pilot projects with underground containers to reduce rubbish on the street.
Public finances: Prestige have left Brussels' public finances in disarray. Metro 3 costs have ballooned to over €4 billion, with little pragmatic justification for such spending. Optimisation will reduce public spending by at least 20%.
Full list programme here.
