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: Olivier Deleuze (Ecolo)
Current coalition: Ecolo-Groen, MR-GM-Indépendant
Number of seats on the council: 29
Population: 25,295 (Statbel)
Average income: €22,030 (Statbel)
Average cost of housing: The average price for a flat is €3,765/m2, while the average cost for a house is €3,834/m2 (Immoweb)
1. PS - Vooruit
Lead candidate: Martin Casier
Number of candidates on the list: 29
Cleanliness: invest in underground containers and increase the number of staff in the waste management department.
Mobility: ensure a coherent and sustainable public transport offering, promote 'soft mobility' for pedestrians and cyclists, improve the quality and safety of pavements, make the Wiener roundabout safer, increase the supply of bicycle boxes.
Security: increase the number of peacekeepers to strengthen prevention through a greater human presence, increase the resources allocated to community policing to boost the number of community officers.
Housing: set up a municipal property agency (AIC) to provide more affordable housing, accelerate the decarbonisation and renovation of housing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, rent allowances for single-parent families, create a public assisted living facility for Watermael-Boitsfort's elderly population.
Full list programme here.
2. DéFI
Lead candidate: Laura Squartini
Number of candidates on the list: 29
Cleanliness: cleaner streets through underground containers for more efficient waste management, sanctions for illegal dumping, and public and accessible toilets.
Security: combat crime such as theft, burglaries and street harassment with a network of cameras in the municipalities, starting with the neighbourhoods most affected by street crime, encourage the Federal Government to appoint more police officers in Brussels and increase the presence and status of peacekeepers.
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.
Full list programme here.
4. Liste Bourgmestre (Ecolo-Groen)
Lead candidate: Tristan Roberti
Number of candidates on the list: 29
Cleanliness: promote buried glass containers and textile containers to avoid noise pollution, organise cleaning events in neighbourhoods, punish littering, illegal dumping and dog faeces, support a deposit system on plastic cans and bottles.
Mobility: improve mobility for children going to school, limit through traffic in residential neighbourhoods.
Security: prevention through visible presence of peacekeepers and police on the ground, strengthen trust between residents and the neighbourhood police, more checks on alcohol levels and aggressive driving.
Housing: create social, energy-efficient and medium-sized housing, repurpose the Saint-Hubert church, finalise the Archiducs-Nord project to provide 38 housing units, reserve 20% of supported/supervised housing in the municipal housing stock for vulnerable groups, create housing suitable for people with reduced mobility.
Full list programme here.
6. MR-GM-Les Engagés
Lead candidate: David Leisterh
Number of candidates on the list: 29
Cleanliness: expand the team of cleaners in the commune, increase fines for incivilities, offer bonuses to residents for cleaning up graffiti on their façades, increase the number of public toilets (especially for women).
Mobility: demand that the region undertake an ambitious redevelopment of Avenue Delleur and Chaussée de La Hulpe, introduce pedestrian-friendly zones, improve signage and street furniture, create school streets where possible, more charging points for electric bikes, combat excessive speeding with speed cameras and reminders.
Security: set up a team to repair damage quickly to reinforce the feeling of safety, install surveillance cameras, increase the presence of peacekeepers, organise targeted operations to combat anti-social behaviour, LED lighting for certain alleyways.
Housing: convert empty office space into housing or mixed-use projects, promote intergenerational housing, establish a moratorium on the construction of new social housing.
Full list programme here.
14. Récupérons Nos Voix (RNV)
Lead candidate: Alexandre de Wind
Number of candidates on the list: 29
Security: provide car parks and make delivery areas accessible to all, focus on Place Keym and surrounding area, reopen police station on Place Wiener.
Business: remove commercial advertising from large signs and replace it with posters highlighting local artists and craftspeople and their work, birth bonuses for shopkeepers, protect terraces by not taxing them.
Communication: create a virtual forum where everyone can post their ideas, consultations with residents, connect people through the 1170 newspaper, integrate the social housing population into the life of the municipality.
Buildings: audit of buildings demolished for no apparent reason, audit of unused municipal buildings and unbuilt communal land.
Full list programme here.
