2018 Belgian local elections

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2018 Belgian local elections
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The Belgian provincial, municipal and district elections of 2018 took place on Sunday 14 October 2018. They are organised by the respective regions:

Contents

In the municipalities with language facilities of Voeren, Comines-Warneton and the 6 of the Brussels Periphery, the aldermen and members of the OCMW/CPAS council are directly elected.

General

Although the laws governing local elections differ per region (Brussels, Flanders and Wallonia) and per level (provinces, municipalities, districts and OCMW/CPAS), they are all similar, with all of the elections being held on the same second Sunday of October for a six-year term.

Between the 2012 and 2018 local elections, elections were only held in May 2014 (European, federal and regional), giving an unusually long period without elections in Belgium. The next European, federal and regional elections will be held in May 2019, only a few months after the October 2018 local elections.

Parties

National political parties are mostly separated by language community. A lot of municipalities have local parties as well as a presence of national parties. Here are the most important national parties:

Voters

All Belgian citizens aged 18 or over are automatically registered and are obliged to participate in the election. Foreigners, both EU and non-EU, have the right to register to vote.

The number of voters is as follows as of 1 August 2018:

BelgiansEU citizensNon-EU citizensTotal
Registered % of potentialRegistered % of potential
Brussels585,92237,23216.75% of 222,24212,17419.27% of 63,171635,328
Flanders4,831,92233,66311.58% of 290,6748,09210.25% of 85,1624,873,677
Wallonia (without GC)2,508,44057,95525.88% of 223,9389,26320.47% of 45,2532,575,658
German-speaking Community 49,3741,70914.97% of 11,413282.78% of 1,00751,111
Total for Belgium7,975,658130,55917.45% of 748,26729,55715.19% of 194,5938,135,774

Brussels

The municipal councils in the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region were elected. These municipalities do not belong to any province.

Since 2014, the regional electoral legislation has been modified to forbid lists with only one candidate, officially to enforce the sex parity principle, officiously to evict lists from an Islamist party. [1] [2] This 'ISLAM' party's leader had announced in April that it would present lists in 14 out of 19 communes. [3] Finally, there are only two, in Brussels and Molenbeek. A third one in Anderlecht, headed by the aforementioned leader who had been elected in 2012, was invalidated because it hadn't been able to collect 100 signatures for its act of presentation. In April and begin September several politicians, amidst big media interest for this minuscule party (2 councillors, less than 10 members), had announced they would submit a law proposal to forbid it as its leader had multiplied controversial attitudes towards women and announcements that he aimed to introduce sharia in Belgium. [3]

The definitive candidates lists have been published online on 21 September 2018, there are 4,104 candidates on 152 lists, they were 3,965 in 2012. [4]

Brussels

Following the 2012 election, Freddy Thielemans (PS) continued as mayor, heading a coalition of socialists (PS-sp.a) and liberals (MR-Open Vld). In December 2013, Thielemans retired and was succeeded by Yvan Mayeur (PS). In 2017, a scandal emerged surrounding Samusocial, an organisation for homeless people where board members received excessive compensations for supposed meetings. Mayeur was forced to resign and was succeeded by Philippe Close (PS). The coalition was no longer supported by sp.a, and sp.a alderwoman Ans Persoons quit. Persoons and sp.a will contend the election on their own as Change.Brussels.

An October 2017 poll showed the Green parties surpassing the socialists as largest party. [5]

In 2018, new financial-political scandals emerged regarding at least three organisations (Gial, Brinfin and Neo) where people were reimbursed as self-employed where they should have been actually employed.

A debate among the main Dutch-speaking candidates was held on 4 September. [6]

Brussels is the only Belgian commune where two Islamic parties contend this election, Islam and its splinter party Salem, the first with two candidates (a father and his daughter), the second with three. Islam had 2 councillors in 2012, one in Anderlecht, the other in Molenbeek, both elected on one-person lists. The third list, in Brussels, failed to get a councillor elected in 2012. This time, the party has only been able to present lists of two candidates in Molenbeek and Brussels. There is a third Islamic party, limited to the province of Liège, the Movement for Education (MPE), which presents lists in three communes, Liège, Dison and Fléron, two one-candidate lists and one three-candidates list.

2018 Brussels City Council election
PartyMain candidateVotes%±%
PS Philippe Close (Incumbent mayor)19,99728.38%Decrease2.svg 0.74%
Ecolo Benoît Hellings 11,84716.81%Increase2.svg 4.42%
MR Alain Courtois 9,77213.87%Decrease2.svg 4.02%
PVDA-PTB Mathilde El Bakri8,15911.58%Increase2.svg 10.02%
cdH Didier Wauters [7] 6,5439.29%Decrease2.svg 8.72%
DéFI Fabian Maingain5,3177.55%Decrease2.svg 0.08%
N-VA Johan Van den Driessche2,6063.70%Decrease2.svg 0.64%
Change.BrusselsAns Persoons2,2693.22%Increase2.svg 3.22%
Others3,9575.61%

Opinion polling:

Date(s) conductedPolling firmNewspaperSample size PS MR-Open Vld cdH-CD&V Ecolo-Groen DéFI N-VA Vlaams Belang PTB/PVDA sp.a OthersLeadMajorityOppositionLead
April 2018iVoxLa Capitale [8]  ?17.4%18.4%12.7%19.7%13.4%4.5%—6.4%0.0%7.5%1.3%35.8%56.7%20.9%
October 2017iVoxRTL / SudInfo [9]  ?14.2%15.8%13.8%20.9%11.7%5.1%—11.4%0.8%6.3%5.1%30.0%63.7%33.7%
14 October 2012Local elections29.1%17.9%18.0%12.4%7.6%4.3%2.2%1.6%—6.9%11.1%47.0%46.1%0.9%

Schaerbeek

In 1994, a new coalition took power in Schaerbeek against the former Liberal (PRL) majority that had backed far right mayor Roger Nols  [ fr ]. This coalition included former 'Nolsists', under the leadership of incumbent mayor Francis Duriau, the FDF of Bernard Clerfayt, Ecolo, the PSC and the PS (the Flemish SP competed apart, on a common list with a small local movement, IDS). The coalition was renewed in 2000, without the PSC but with the MR which competed under the Liste du Bourgmestre (Mayor's List) flag, uniting the former PRL and the FDF. In 2006, the coalition excluded the PS, which had among its councillors a controversial Turkish member of the Grey Wolves. This provoked the exclusion of Ecolo by the PS in the ruling coalitions e.g. in Brussels and Molenbeek. In 2012, the PS was maintained in the opposition, while the CDH (4 seats) entered it with 2 aldermen, and the local MR chapter broke up as the federal party forbade any common list with its former FDF partner, but a majority of the local chapter chose to go forward with the (predominantly FDF) Mayor's List as 'Independent Liberals'.

The situation before the 2018 elections is quite different from the two previous ones. In 2006 and 2012, federal Vice-Premier Laurette Onkelinx led the PS list against the Mayor's List, overtly hoping to supersede it and take the mayorship. In both elections, the Ecolo list was led by a former federal leader, Isabelle Durant, who chose to keep its alliance with FDF Bernard Clerfayt. In 2017, both Durant and Onkelinx resigned from the municipal council and there are no notorious followers in sight. [10] [11] PS federal deputy Ahmed Laaouej declined the offer to move from Koekelberg to Schaerbeek to replace her. [12] [13] In 2015, the CDH fraction was halved with the exclusion of Regional deputy Mahinur Özdemir, officially for refusing to recognize the existence of the 1915 Armenian genocide. Another Turkish CDH councillor left the CDH group after this exclusion. [14]

Apart from the New Flemish Alliance and the Flemish Interest (Vlaams Belang) lists, Flemish parties have common lists with their Francophone counterpart: PS-SP.A, CDH-CD&V, Ecolo-Groen. The Open VLD, whose only councillor sits within the majority, has decided to join the Liste du Bourgmestre (Mayor's List), which includes DéFI (new name of the FDF) candidates, including the mayor himself, and former MR. [15]

2018 Schaerbeek City Council election
PartyMain candidateVotes%±%
Liste du Bourgmestre Bernard Clerfayt (Incumbent mayor)1688732.0%Decrease2.svg 0.7%
Ecolo Vincent Vanhalewyn [16] [17] 1024119.4%Increase2.svg 6%
PS Mathieu Degrez [18] 955718.1%Decrease2.svg 6.97%
PVDA-PTB Axel Bernard668812.7%Increase2.svg 9.3%
cdH Denis Grimberghs [19] [20] 38147.2%Decrease2.svg 1.85%
MR Georges Verzin [21] 32916.2%Decrease2.svg 3.37%
N-VA Cieltje Van Achter [22] 14442.7%Increase2.svg 0.5%
Flemish Interest Patrick Sessler [23] 6201.2%Decrease2.svg 0.3%
Citoyen d'Europe M3EKateryna Mankovska2850.5%Increase2.svg 0.5%

Opinion polling:

Date(s) conductedPolling firmNewspaperSample size LB PS-sp.a Ecolo-Groen MR-Open Vld cdH-CD&V PTB/PVDA N-VA OthersLeadMajorityOppositionLead
April 2018iVoxRTL / SudInfo [24]  ?35.1%15.2%15.2%9.5%6.0%12.7% ?6.3%19.9%65.8%27.9%37.9%
29 September - 4 October 2017iVoxRTL / SudInfo [25]  ?35.8%13.5%16.1%9.8%6.4%12.2% ?6.2%19.7%68.1%25.7%42.4%
14 October 2012Local elections32.7%25.1%13.4%9.6%9.1%3.4%2.2%4.6%7.6%64.8%30.7%34.1%

Other municipalities

Flanders

Procedures and changes

In Flanders, the elections are mainly regulated by the Local and Provincial Electoral Act of 8 July 2011. Below are a few key dates set out in the Act applied to these elections:

DeadlineSubjectStatutory provision
By 1 June 2018Determination by the Flemish Government of the numbers of municipal, district and provincial councillors to be elected, based on population figures as of 1 January 2018Article 7
1 July 2018Start of the "waiting period" ( sperperiode ) running until the day of the election, during which political propaganda and expenses are strictly regulatedArticle 2
By 31 August 2018Determination of the electoral roll by the municipal college of mayor and aldermen, based on the situation as of 1 AugustArticle 16
By the 15th day before election (29 September 2018)Sending out of the convocation letter by the municipal college to all votersArticle 52
Second Sunday of October (14 October 2018)Polling day (between 8am and 1pm); counting of votes starts no later than 2pmArticle 6, 134 and 150
The first working day of December (3 December 2018) at 10amConstitutive meeting of the provincial councilsArticle 7 (Provincial Act)
The first working day of January (2 January 2019) at 8pm (default)Constitutive meeting of the municipal and district councils (the outgoing council chairman can determine a different day and time)Article 6 (Local Govt. Act)

All residents aged 18 and higher with Belgian citizenship are obligated to vote. Foreigners, both EU and non-EU, have the right to vote. A May 2017 proposal to lower the voting age to 16 was blocked by government party N-VA. [26]

Minister of Local Government Homans defined by order of 31 May 2018 the 163 municipalities that vote electronically; the other 145 municipalities vote by paper ballot.

Fifteen Flemish municipalities will merge into seven per 1 January 2019, when the legislative period elected in these elections starts. This reduces the number of Flemish municipalities from 308 to 300.

By order of 25 May 2018, the Flemish Government defined the number of councillors to be elected. In total, 7,398 municipal councillors will be elected in Flanders, a decrease of 66 compared to 2012. Thirty municipalities see an increase of two councillors, whereas in Ardooie and Ypres the population decreased, leading to a decrease of two councillors. The overall decrease however is mostly due to the merging of municipalities.

Political background

Campaign posters in Kortrijk Belgische lokale verkiezingen 2018 reclame Kortrijk.jpg
Campaign posters in Kortrijk

The following political parties have a common regional list numbers:

  1.   sp.a
  2.   N-VA
  3.   CD&V
  4.   Groen
  5.   Vlaams Belang
  6.   Open Vld

While N-VA has replaced CD&V's longstanding dominance nationally (in the 2010 and 2014 elections), the latter party retains its advantage on a local level. N-VA was able to break through in a lot of places locally in 2012, but CD&V remained the largest party in many municipalities, especially in rural ones.

Open Vld has strongholds both in rural and urban areas; for example the mayors of Mechelen and Kortrijk are Open Vld members. Sp.a tends to dominate in cities; however, it lost Antwerp in 2012 to N-VA, and Hasselt's mayoralty to CD&V in 2016. Gent's and Leuven's sp.a mayors are retiring, posing further threats to the party's power in cities. Sp.a chairman John Crombez suggested he would quit if his party's results are bad. [27]

Groen only has two mayors, and Vlaams Belang is nowhere in power.

Provincial elections

The provincial councils of Antwerp, Flemish Brabant, East Flanders, West Flanders and Limburg will be elected. The Flemish Government reduced the total number of provincial councillors from 351 to 175: 31 instead of 63 for Limburg and 36 instead of 72 for the other four provinces. Councillors are elected for a six-year term, starting on the first working day in December following the elections, thus 3 December 2018.

PartyFlag of Antwerp.svg  Antwerp Flag of Oost-Vlaanderen.svg  East Flanders Flemish Brabant Flag.png  Flemish Brabant Flag of Limburg (Belgium).svg  Limburg Flag of West Flanders.svg  West Flanders Total
Votes %SeatsVotes %SeatsVotes %SeatsVotes %SeatsVotes %SeatsVotes %Seats
N-VA 372,95132.8%14212,00321.4%8178,41525.3%10118,55021.5%7155,44919.5%71,037,36824.8% (Decrease2.svg 3.7pp)46 (Decrease2.svg 58)
CD&V 175,35515.4%6178,09918%7123,96217.6%7139,06425.2%10206,00825.8%10822,48819.7% (Decrease2.svg 1.8pp)40 (Decrease2.svg 42)
Open Vld 103,6649.1%2181,28918.3%7108,58015.4%570,36512.7%4106,70313.4%5570,60113.7% (Decrease2.svg 0.9pp)23 (Decrease2.svg 31)
Groen 163,09114.4%5138,49914%5106,39915.1%646,9528.5%197,37012.2%4552,31113.2% (Increase2.svg 5.5pp)21 (Decrease2.svg 3)
Vlaams Belang 161,58414.2%6140,21214.2%660,6218.6%367,99612.3%4112,32314.1%5542,73613% (Increase2.svg 4.1pp)24 (Decrease2.svg 5)
sp.a 90,4058%295,3969.6%363,5109%385,01015.4%599,05912.4%5433,38010.4% (Decrease2.svg 1.1pp)18 (Decrease2.svg 33)
PVDA+ 51,4054.5%131,6333.2%016,0602.3%016,5033%016,2862%0131,8873.2% (Increase2.svg 1.1pp)1 (Decrease2.svg 1)
Others17,9711.7%012,5421.2%08,2381.2%07,8071.4%04,1070.5%050,6651.2%0
UF ——38,1155.4%2——38,1150.9%2 (Decrease2.svg 3)
Total1,136,426100%36 (Decrease2.svg 36)989,673100%36 (Decrease2.svg 36)703,900100%36 (Decrease2.svg 36)552,247100%31 (Decrease2.svg 32)797,305100%36 (Decrease2.svg 36)100%175 (Decrease2.svg 176)

Municipal elections

The municipal councils in all municipalities will be elected. Fifteen municipalities will be merged into seven, effective 1 January 2019, thus elections will be held for 300 rather than the current 308 municipalities. In each municipality, 7 to 55 councillors will be elected at-large depending on the population as of 1 January 2018. Councillors are elected for a six-year term, starting on the first working day in January following the elections, thus 2 January 2019.

Provincial capitals

Party Flag of Antwerp.svg Antwerp Flag of Oost-Vlaanderen.svg Ghent Flemish Brabant Flag.png Leuven Flag of Limburg (Belgium).svg Hasselt Flag of West Flanders.svg Bruges
Votes %SeatsVotes %SeatsVotes %SeatsVotes %SeatsVotes %Seats
N-VA 99.65735.3%23 (1)19.16712.1%6 (3)13.33122.2%11 (2)15.38228.7%12 (1)9.57311.7%5 (4)
CD&V 19.1516.8%3 (6)13.9798.8%4 (4)9.68816.1%8 (4)11.23320.9%9 (3)26.13031.9%17 (1)
Groen 51.05518.1%11 (2)53.17933.5%21 (1)*11.84819.7%10 (3)13.55325.3%11 (2)*8.86410.8%5 (5)

Aalst

Aalst (in East Flanders) is governed by a coalition of N-VA, CD&V and SD&P (a local social democratic party who split from sp.a, who no longer wished to support the coalition). Mayor is Christoph D'Haese (N-VA). Ilse Uyttersprot has announced that she would challenge Christoph D'Haese for mayor. Largest opposition party is Open Vld, who put forth Jean-Jacques De Gucht as main candidate. [28]

2018 Aalst City Council election
Party Main candidate Votes%±%
N-VA Christoph D'Haese (Incumbent mayor) (16 seats)18,68833.2%+2.1
Flemish Interest Michel Van Brempt (8 seats)9,76317.3%+6.5
CD&V Ilse Uyttersprot (6 seats)7,55213.4%−3.9
Open Vld Jean-Jacques De Gucht (4 seats)5,88110.4%−6.9
Groen Lander Wantens (4 seats)5,2789.4%+3.5
sp.a Sam Van De Putte (3 seats)4,2627.6%−8.8
lijstAAnn Van de Steen* (2 seats)3,9066.9%+6.9
PVDA-PTB Alexander Van Ransbeeck1,0211.8%+0.6
  • Split from Socialist Party Differently

Opinion polling:

Date(s) conductedPolling firmNewspaperSample size N-VA CD&V Open Vld sp.a SDP Vlaams Belang Groen PVDA OthersLeadMajorityOppositionLead
17–24 September 2018IndivilleHet Nieuwsblad [29] 27.2%12.7%15.8%5.4%7.8%14.6%11.2%3.1%0.2%11.4%47.7%50.1%2.4%
December 2017-Goeiedag Aalst [30] -28.0%16.2%14.8%3.9%8.0%13.9%7.7%0.7%—11.8%52.2%41.0%11.2%
14 October 2012Local elections31.1%17.3%17.3%16.4%—10.8%5.9%1.2%—13.8%64.8%35.2%29.6%

Antwerp

Antwerp (in Antwerp) is governed by a coalition of N-VA, CD&V and Open Vld. Incumbent mayor Bart De Wever (N-VA) is expected to run for a second term. CD&V will not form a joint list with sp.a as they did in the 2012 elections. Sp.a, which was previously in power for decades, is the largest opposition party in the 2013–2018 term. On 17 November 2016, CD&V announced that Deputy Prime Minister Kris Peeters will move from Puurs to Antwerp to be their main candidate. This will pit two of the most popular politicians against each other in the biggest city of Flanders. Secretary of State Philippe De Backer will be Open Vld's main candidate, whereas Filip Dewinter will again be the candidate of Vlaams Belang. The pan-European party Volt Europa will team up with the local Pirate Party and field one list under the name "Paars" ("Purple").

On 13 October 2017, sp.a and Groen announced they would form a joint list, including independents, under the name Samen ("together"), led by Groen politician Wouter Van Besien, and third place for sp.a politician Tom Meeuws  [ nl ]. However, following scandals involving Meeuws, Groen decided to end the collaboration in January 2018. Sp.a decided to field independent Jinnih Beels as main candidate, with second place for Meeuws.

Kris Peeters surprisingly said he has a chance of becoming mayor even if his party CD&V only receives 5% of the vote and is needed for a coalition.

The elections resulted in a narrow majority for the incumbent coalition, leading De Wever to look for a different coalition. Initially he tried with Groen, but their positions are too different. Eventually N-VA, sp.a and Open Vld formed a coalition.

2018 Antwerp City Council election
Party Main candidate Votes%±%
N-VA Bart De Wever (23 seats won)99,65735.3%–2.4
Groen Wouter Van Besien (11 seats won)51,05518.1%+10.2
sp.a Jinnih Beels (6 seats won)32,32711.4%
Flemish Interest Filip Dewinter (6 seats won)29,56510.5%+0.3
PVDA-PTB Peter Mertens (4 seats won)24,6378.7%+0.7
CD&V Kris Peeters (3 seats won)19,1516.8%
Open Vld Philippe De Backer (2 seats won)15,7685.6%+0.1
Others10,2723.6%
Total55 seats282,432100%

Opinion polling:

Date(s) conductedPolling firmNewspaperSample size N-VA CD&V sp.a Groen Vlaams Belang PVDA Open Vld OthersLeadMajorityOppositionLead
September 2018IpsosGazet van Antwerpen [31] 80232.2%7.0%13.0%20.2%12.6%8.1%5.5%1.4%12.0%44.7%53.9%9.2%
17–24 SeptemberIndivilleHet Nieuwsblad [32] 158629.9%7.1%16.0%19.2%11.6%8.3%5.8%1.0%10.7%42.8%55.1%12.3%
April 2018IvoxHet Laatste Nieuws [33] 80035.0%2.0%10.2%16.0%8.1%8.0%7.6%4.0%19.0%44.6%42.3%2.3%
November 2017 ?Het Nieuwsblad ?39.4%6.7%25.2%12.1%9.4%6.6%0.7%14.2%52.7%46.7%6.0%
September 2017IpsosGazet van Antwerpen [34] 80029.5%8.9%30.6%8.8%9.9%7.1%5.2%1.1%45.5%49.3%3.8%
September 2017IpsosGazet van Antwerpen [34] 80026.1%10.2%13.6%24.2%8.7%8.2%6.2%2.6%1.9%42.7%54.7%12.0%
6–17 March 2017IpsosVRT / Het Laatste Nieuws [35] 60029.3%14.1%13.1%20.1%9.6%8.3%5.5%—9.2%48.9%51.1%2.2%
8–22 September 2015 ?VTM / Het Laatste Nieuws [36] 80034.4%7.4%19.1%16.3%9.6%6.0%7.1%—15.3%48.9%51.0%2.1%
14 October 2012Local elections37.7%28.6%7.9%10.2%8.0%5.5%2.0% 9.1%———

Most Favorable mayor:

score on scale of one to ten

Date(s) conductedPolling firmNewspaperSample size De Wever Peeters Beels Van Besien Dewinter Mertens De Backer
April 2018IvoxHet Laatste Nieuws8006.34.25.05.13.64.84.8

Bruges

Bruges MayorCoalition
Incumbent Renaat Landuyt (sp.a) sp.a, CD&V
New Dirk De fauw (CD&V) CD&V, sp.a, Open Vld

Bruges (in West Flanders) is governed by a coalition of sp.a and CD&V, led by mayor Renaat Landuyt (sp.a). The largest opposition party is N-VA; Pol Van Den Driessche will be its main candidate.

CD&V became the largest party; Dirk De fauw will become mayor, heading a coalition of CD&V, sp.a and Open Vld.

2018 Bruges City Council election
Party Main candidate Votes%±%
CD&V Dirk De fauw (17 seats)26,13031.9%+5.3
sp.a Renaat Landuyt (Incumbent) (10 seats)15,87219.4%−7.4
Open Vld Mercedes Van Volcem (6 seats)10,89613.3%+2.3
N-VA Pol Van Den Driessche (5 seats)9,57311.7%−8.1
Groen Raf Reuse (5 seats)8,86410.8%+2.0
Flemish Interest Stefaan Sintobin (4 seats)7,5129.2%+3.8
PVDA-PTB Mieke Van Hoorde1,4791.8%+1.8
Others/1,5891,9%+0.3
Date(s) conductedPolling firmNewspaperSample size sp.a CD&V N-VA Open Vld Groen Vlaams Belang PVDA OthersLeadMajorityOppositionLead
17–24 September 2018IndivilleHet Nieuwsblad [37] 16.2%28.0%14.4%15.3%12.3%6.9%4.1%0.1%11.8%44.2%53.08.8%
14 October 2012Local elections26.8%26.7%19.8%11.0%8.8%5.4%—1.6%0.1%53.5%45.0%8.5%

Ghent

Ghent MayorCoalition
Incumbent Daniël Termont (sp.a) sp.a-Groen, Open Vld
New Mathias De Clercq (Open Vld) sp.a-Groen, Open Vld, CD&V

Ghent (in East Flanders) is governed by a coalition of sp.a-Groen and Open Vld. Daniël Termont (sp.a), mayor since 2006, announced he will step down at the end of the term. Tom Balthazar  [ nl ] was selected to replace him as main candidate of sp.a, again in electoral alliance with Groen, but he resigned in February 2017 following the Publipart scandal  [ nl ]. [38] Rudy Coddens  [ nl ] replaced him in February 2017.

Sarah Claerhout  [ nl ] was selected to be CD&V's candidate, but she also resigned for a different reason.[ clarification needed ] Former director of the Flemish Catholic education Mieke Van Hecke  [ nl ] will stand for CD&V instead.

Elke Sleurs quit as Secretary of State in order to be N-VA's candidate, but after a dispute with Siegfried Bracke, the party decided in January 2018 to put forward MEP Anneleen Van Bossuyt as main candidate.

Mathias De Clercq will remain the main candidate of Open Vld, which will thus be the only major list headed by the same candidate as in 2012.

One of the main topics is the implementation of a traffic circulation plan in 2017, which increased the car-free area in the city centre and divided the city into several zones for access by car, in order to improve air quality and stimulate public transportation and cycle use.

2018 Ghent City Council election
Party Main candidate Votes%±%
sp.a-Groen Rudy Coddens (21 seats won)53,17933.5%–12
Open Vld Mathias De Clercq (15 seats won)39,87925.2%+8.7
N-VA Anneleen Van Bossuyt (6 seats won)19,16712.1%–5
CD&V Mieke Van Hecke (4 seats won)13,9798.8%–0.3
Flemish Interest Johan Deckmyn (4 seats won)12,3547.8%+1.3
PVDA-PTB Tom De Meester (3 seats won)11,1787.1%+4.2
Others/8,8095.5%
Total53 seats158,545100%

The sp.a-Groen kartel lost significantly, mostly the sp.a faction, but together they remained the largest bloc. Open Vld gained significantly, becoming the largest single party. Open Vld wants to cooperate with CD&V. Since neither bloc has a majority, the four parties will try forming a coalition together, but it was uncertain at first as to whether Filip Watteeuw (Groen) or Mathias De Clercq (Open Vld) will become mayor. On 30 November, the four parties announced the formation of their coalition with De Clercq as mayor.

Opinion polling:

Date(s) conductedPolling firmNewspaperSample size sp.a-Groen N-VA Open Vld CD&V Vlaams Belang PVDA OthersLeadMajorityOppositionLead
17–24 September 2018IndivilleHet Nieuwsblad [39] 86037.2%13.4%23.4%5.1%7.4%7.9%3.9%13.8%60.6%33.8%26.8%
6–17 March 2017IpsosHLN [40] 60038.8%17.2%22.5%10.3%5.4%5.8%—16.3%61.3%38.7%22.6%
14 October 2012Local elections45.5%17.1%16.5%9.1%6.5%2.9%2.4% 28.4%62.0%35.6%26.4%

Hasselt

Hasselt MayorCoalition
Incumbent Nadja Vananroye (CD&V) sp.a-Groen, CD&V
New Steven Vandeput (N-VA) N-VA, sp.a-Groen, Open Vld

Hasselt (in Limburg) is governed by a coalition of sp.a-Groen and CD&V. In 2016, Hilde Claes  [ nl ] (sp.a) was forced to step down as mayor and was replaced by Nadja Vananroye  [ nl ] (CD&V). N-VA is the largest opposition party.

Minister of Defence Steven Vandeput (N-VA) becomes the new mayor in a coalition of N-VA, sp.a-Groen and Open Vld. The outgoing mayor's party, CD&V, becomes opposition.

2018 Hasselt City Council election
Party Main candidate Votes%±%
N-VA Steven Vandeput (12 seats)15,38228.7%+3.2
sp.a-Groen Marc Schepers (11 seats)13,55325,3%−7.7
CD&V Nadja Vananroye (Incumbent) (9 seats)11,23320.9%−1.8
Open Vld Hans Similon (4 seats)5,56310.4%+0.5
Flemish Interest Frank Troosters (3 seats)4,4378.3%+2.5
PVDA-PTB Kim De Witte (2 seats)3,4976.5%+6.5

Opinion polling:

Date(s) conductedPolling firmNewspaperSample size Rood-Groen N-VA CD&V Open Vld Vlaams Belang PVDA OthersLeadMajorityOppositionLead
17–24 SeptemberIndivilleHet Nieuwsblad [41] 22.7%29.3%18.8%11.4%7.1%8.1%0.1%6.6%41.5%55.9%14.4%
September 2018iVoxhbvl [42]  ?24.3%28.8%21.6%7.8%8.2%6.8%2.4%4.5%45.9%51.6%5.7%
14 October 2012Local elections33.0%25.5%22.7%9.9%5.5%—3.3%7.5%55.7%40.9%14.8%

Kortrijk

Vincent Van Quickenborne is the incumbent mayor of Kortrijk (in West Flanders), with a coalition of Open Vld, N-VA and sp.a. With this coalition, he ousted largest party CD&V in 2012.

Now Open Vld became the largest party, allowing Van Quickenborne to continue governing.

2018 Kortrijk City Council election
Party Main candidate Votes%±%
Open Vld Vincent Van Quickenborne (Incumbent mayor) (15 seats)15,90031.3%+10.0
CD&V Hannelore Vanhoenacker (7 seats)8,53216.8%−16.2
sp.a Philippe De Coene (6 seats)7,33514.4%+0.1
Flemish Interest Wouter Vermeersch (5 seats)6,12412.0%+5.9
N-VA Axel Ronse (4 seats)5,67511.2%−5.1
Groen David Wemel (4 seats)5,0599.9%+2.5
PVDA-PTB Jouwe Vanhoutteghem1,0832.1%+0.9
Others1,1512.3%
Date(s) conductedPolling firmNewspaperSample size CD&V Open Vld N-VA sp.a Groen Vlaams Belang PVDA OthersLeadMajorityOppositionLead
17–24 September 2018IndivilleDe Standaard [43] 38722.7%20.6%16.0%10.9%10.3%9.6% ?8.3%2.1%47.5%42.6%4.9%
14 October 2012Local elections33.0%21.3%16.3%14.3%7.4%6.1%1.2% 0.5%11.7%51.9%47.7%4.2%

Leuven

Leuven MayorCoalition
Incumbent Louis Tobback (sp.a) sp.a, CD&V
New Mohamed Ridouani  [ nl ] (sp.a) sp.a, Groen, CD&V

Leuven (in Flemish Brabant) is governed by a coalition of sp.a and CD&V. Louis Tobback (sp.a), mayor since 1995, announced he will step down at the end of the term. Mohamed Ridouani  [ nl ] will replace him as main candidate of sp.a. The largest opposition parties are N-VA and Groen. CD&V's main candidate will be Carl Devlies, first alderman in Leuven, while N-VA's main candidate will be Lorin Parys, member of the Flemish Parliament.

Following the election, sp.a, Groen and CD&V formed a coalition with Mohamed Ridouani as mayor.

2018 Leuven City Council election
Party Main candidate Votes%±%
sp.a Mohamed Ridouani (14 seats won)15,61325.9%–5.5
N-VA Lorin Parys (11 seats won)13,33122.2%+3.2
Groen David Dessers (10 seats won)11,84819.7%+4.2
CD&V Carl Devlies (8 seats won)9,68816.1%–2.4
Open Vld Rik Daems (2 seats won)3,8996.5%–1.3
PVDA-PTB Line De Witte (1 seat won)2,7634.6%+1.8
Flemish Interest Hagen Goyvaerts (1 seat won)2,1573.6%–0.1
others(no seats won)8861.5%
Date(s) conductedPolling firmNewspaperSample size sp.a N-VA CD&V Groen Open Vld Vlaams Belang PVDA OthersLeadMajorityOppositionLead
17–24 September 2018IndivilleHet Nieuwsblad [44] 24.9%21.4%10.8%23.6%5.7%5.9%6.0%1.2%1.3%35.7%62.6%26.9%
14 October 2012Local elections31.4%19.0%18.5%15.5%7.8%3.7%2.8% 1.2%12.4%49.9%48.8%1.1%

Mechelen

Mechelen MayorCoalition
Incumbent Bart Somers (Open Vld) Vld-Groen-m+, N-VA, CD&V
New Bart Somers (Open Vld) Vld-Groen-m+

Mechelen (in Antwerp) is governed by a coalition of Vld-Groen-m+, N-VA and CD&V, headed by mayor Bart Somers (Open Vld). The opposition parties are sp.a and Vlaams Belang.

Vld-Groen-M+ received an absolute majority of seats in the election.

2018 Mechelen City Council election
Party Main candidate Votes%±%
Vld-Groen-M+ Bart Somers (25 seats won)26,10247.9%+14
N-VA Freya Perdaens (7 seats won)8,97216.5%–6.7
Flemish Interest Frank Creyelman (4 seats won)5,2109.6%+0.9
CD&V Wim Soons (3 seats won)4,9669.1%–3.3
sp.a Caroline Gennez (3 seats won)4,9619.1%–9.1
PVDA-PTB Dirk Tuypens (1 seat won)2,4174.4%+1.3
Others/1,8593.4%
Total43 seats54,487100%

Opinion polling:

Date(s) conductedPolling firmNewspaperSample size Open Vld-Groen N-VA sp.a CD&V Vlaams Belang PVDA OthersLeadMajorityOppositionLead
September 2017IpsosGazet Van Antwerpen [45] 60051.7%16.5%10.4%7.9%7.1%5.9%0.5%35.2%76.1%23.4%52.7%
17–24 September 2018IndivilleDe Standaard [46] 50846.2%18.9%9.0%8.0%7.5%7.0%1.9%27.6%73.1%23.5%49.6%
September 2017IpsosGazet Van Antwerpen [47] 60042.0%18.4%14.0%10.6%7.0%4.7%3.3%23.6%71.0%25.7%45.3%
14 October 2012Local elections33.9%23.2%18.2%12.4%8.7%3.0%0.6% 10.7%69.5%29.9%39.6%

Ostend

Ostend MayorCoalition
Incumbent Johan Vande Lanotte (sp.a) sp.a, Open Vld, CD&V
New Bart Tommelein (Open Vld) Open Vld, N-VA, Groen, CD&V

Incumbent mayor and Minister of State Johan Vande Lanotte (sp.a) announced he wants to run with a "citizens' movement". The local sp.a will run as an open list with independents under the name "Stadslijst" ("City's list"). Flemish Minister Bart Tommelein (Open Vld) wants to challenge him as mayor. [48]

2018 Ostend City Council election
Party Main candidate Votes%±%
Stadslijst Johan Vande Lanotte (Incumbent mayor) (11 seats)10,65522.8%−9.3
Open Vld Bart Tommelein (9 seats)9,28819.8%+6.4
N-VA Björn Anseeuw (7 seats)7,72216.5%−6.2
Flemish Interest Christian Verougstraete (6 seats)6,12613.1%+5.4
Groen Wouter De Vriendt (5 seats)5,86112.5%+2.4
CD&V Krista Claeys (3 seats)3,6707.8%−1.7
PVDA-PTB Ilona Vandenberghe9622.1%+2.1
Others/2,5375.4%

Tommelein formed a coalition of his party Open Vld together with Groen, CD&V and N-VA, ousting Vande Lanotte as mayor.

Date(s) conductedPolling firmNewspaperSample sizeStads. N-VA Open Vld Groen CD&V Vlaams Belang PVDA OthersLeadMajorityOppositionLead
17–24 September 2018IndivilleHet Nieuwsblad [49] 24.1%17.8%15.3%11.9%6.2%15.4%2.3%7.0%6.3%45.6%47.4%1.8%
14 October 2012Local elections32.1%22.7%13.5%10.1%9.5%7.7%—4.4%9.4%55.1%40.5%14.6%

Other notable results

West Flanders

East Flanders

  • In Ninove, "Forza Ninove", the local Vlaams Belang, received 40% of the votes, leading to uncertainty who will form a coalition, as no other party wants to cooperate with them.

Antwerp

Flemish Brabant

  • In Aarschot, Open Vld party leader Gwendolyn Rutten will become mayor.
  • In Grimbergen, "Vernieuwing" ("Renewal") became the largest party and formed a coalition with Open Vld and N-VA. However, "Vernieuwing" are mostly ex-Vlaams Belang politicians and the Open Vld national party decided that its local chapter cannot cooperate with them.

Wallonia

The Walloon Government decided not to use electronic voting and only use paper ballots. The German-speaking Community however, which organises municipal elections in its area since 2015, is using electronic voting only.

Provincial elections

The provincial councils of Namur, Walloon Brabant, Liège, Hainaut and Luxembourg were elected. The numbers of councillors are unchanged compared to 2012.

PartyFlag of Namur Province.svg  Namur Drapeau Province BE Brabant Wallon.svg  Walloon Brabant Flag of the Province of Liege.svg  Liège Flag of Hainaut.svg  Hainaut Unofficial flag of the Province of Luxembourg.svg  Luxembourg Total
Votes %SeatsVotes %SeatsVotes %SeatsVotes %SeatsVotes %SeatsVotes %Seats
PS 62,33820.8%833,68614.2%6154,09025.4%15*234,57032.9%2629,60317.6%7514,28725.4%62 (Decrease2.svg 16)
MR 76,08025.4%1290,55638.3%16136,80522.5%15*133,32118.7%1244,10326.3%12480,86523.7%67 (Decrease2.svg 7)
Ecolo 51,55817.2%855,81923.6%998,98616.3%1297,65713.7%1124,46414.6%4328,48416.2%44 (Increase2.svg 20)
cdH 49,56716.5%621,0108.9%364,42410.6%6*71,44410.0%453,18231.7%14259,62712.8%33 (Decrease2.svg 8)
PTB 26,6448.9%100.0%081,40913.4%685,06011.9%38,8345.3%0201,94710%10 (Increase2.svg 8)
DéFI 16,9875.7%217,6917.5%323,1323.8%029,1724.1%06,6734.0%093,6554.6%5 (Increase2.svg 3)
PP 7,7242.6%07,2273.1%024,5924.1%021,5993.0%01,1440.7%062,2863.1%0
Others8,9603.0%010,6384.5%024,1794.0%041,3375.8%000.0%085,1144.2%0
Total607,617100%37714,160100%37253,117100%56714,160100%56168,003100%372,026,625100%223
Walloon Brabant Provincial Council Composition Svgfiles 2021-12-06-00-35-29-403716-11395083602049765261.svg
Walloon Brabant Provincial Council Composition

Municipal elections

The municipal councils in the 262 municipalities will be elected. In each municipality, 7 to 55 councillors will be elected at-large depending on the population as of 1 January 2018. Councillors are elected for a six-year term, starting on the first Monday in December following the elections, thus 3 December 2018.

A total of 5,370 municipal councillors are up for election, an increase of 64 compared to 2012 due to population increase.

Arlon

Arlon (in Luxembourg) is governed by a coalition of cdH and PS. Vincent Magnus of the cdH is the incumbent mayor. The PS enters the election with an open list under the name "Pour vouS" ("For you"), their main candidate is current alderman André Perpète. [51]

2018 Arlon City Council election
PartyMain candidateVotes%±%
cdH Vincent Magnus (Incumbent mayor) (12 seats)6,43639,1%+39.1
Ecolo Romain Gaudron (7 seats)3,75322.8%+7.6
MR Carine Lecomte (6 seats)3,69322.4%+0.9
Pour vouS André Perpète (4 seats)2,58115.7%−10.5
Hainaut Provincial Council Svgfiles 2021-12-06-00-50-13-703374-10715311298837082527.svg
Hainaut Provincial Council
Luxembourg Provincial Council Composition Svgfiles 2021-12-06-00-54-06-697398-7947709740461417639.svg
Luxembourg Provincial Council Composition

Charleroi

Charleroi (in Hainaut) is governed by a coalition of PS, MR and cdH. Paul Magnette (PS) is the incumbent mayor. Local far right list FN Belge changes into "AGIR", while the cdH contends as "C+".

2018 Charleroi City Council election
PartyMain candidateVotes%±%
PS Paul Magnette (Incumbent mayor) (26 seats)40,88441.3%−6.4
PVDA-PTB Sofie Merckx (9 seats)15,57215.8%+12.4
MR Cyprien Devilers (6 seats)11,09211.2%−5.1
C+ Eric Goffart 7,5397.6%−3.0
Ecolo Xavier Desgain (3 seats)7,3177.4%±0.0
DéFI Jean-Noël Gillard (2 seats)5,1205.2%+5.2
PP Stève Maloteau (1 seat)4,4944.5%+4.5
Others/7,0077.1%

Opinion polling:

Date(s) conductedPolling firmNewspaperSample size PS MR C+ Ecolo Défi PTB AGIROthersLeadMajorityOppositionLead
13 April 2018IVoxLa Meuse [52] 60028.1%13.1%9.3%7.2%3.5%20.1%6.8%11.9%8.0%50.5%37.6%12.9%
9 October 2017IVoxLa Meuse [53] 60023.4%12.0%9.6%7.1%2.7%25.4%8.0%11.8%2.0%45.0%43.2%1.8%
14 October 2012Local elections47.7%16.3%10.6%7.4%1.8%3.4%5.8%7.0%31.474.6%18.4%56.2%

Liège

Liège (in Liège) is governed by a coalition of PS and cdH, with Willy Demeyer of the PS as mayor. Currently the MR is the biggest opposition party, but the PTB is expected to grow into one of the big contenders in 2018. Popular PTB politician Raoul Hedebouw, who lives in Liège, has stated that he's not interested in running for mayor. Ecolo will come up as a list with independents under the name "Vert Ardent".

2018 Liège City Council election
PartyMain candidateVotes%±%
PS Willy Demeyer (Incumbent mayor) (17 seats)30,28930.7%−7.2
MR Christine Defraigne (10 seats)17,69517.9%−3.3
PVDA-PTB Sophie Lecron (9 seats)16,08116.3%+9.9
Vert ArdentCaroline Saal (8 seats)14,53914.8%+2.6
cdH Carine Clotuche (3 seats)6,6646.7%−7.3
VEGAFrançois Schreuer (1 seat)4,4594.5%+0.9
DéFI François Pottié (1 seat)3,5543.6%+3.6
Others5,2565.3%

Opinion polling:

Date(s) conductedPolling firmNewspaperSample size PS MR cdH Ecolo PP PTB DéFI Vert ArdentOthersLeadMajorityOppositionLead
26 June - 7 August 2018Butterfly ResearchRCF [54] 43234.0%18.3%11.8%—2.2%10.1%1.2%17.8%6.8%15.7%45.8%49.6%3.8%
April 2018IVoxLa Meuse [55]  ?27.4%21.4%8.4%— ?20.9%4.4%14.0% ?6.0%35.8%60.7%24.9%
9 October 2017IVoxLa Meuse [56] 60020.5%25.4%9.5%12.4%1.9%28.3%——2.0%3.3%30.0%68.0%38.0%
13–20 March 2017IpsosRTL/Le Soir [57] 60022.7%16.1%8.0%21.0% ?16.8%——15.4%1.7%30.7%53.9%23.2%
14 October 2012Local elections38.0%21.2%14.0%12.3%2.2%6.4%——6.0% 16.8%52.0%48.0%4.0%

Mons

Mons (in Hainaut) is governed by a coalition of PS and cdH. Former prime minister Elio Di Rupo is incumbent mayor, but he will not run for re-election. Instead the PS list will be led by first alderman Nicolas Martin. The MR will run as "Mons en mieux!" ("Better Mons") with Georges-Louis Bouchez as main candidate, while cdH renamed itself "Agora - Agir pour Mons" ("Act for Mons").

2018 Mons City Council election
PartyMain candidateVotes%±%
PS Nicolas Martin (23 seats)22,73544.2%−11.0
Mons en mieux! Georges-Louis Bouchez (11 seats)11,04321.5%+3.6
Ecolo Charlotte de Jaer (6 seats)6,56612.8%+4.0
PVDA-PTB John Beugnies (3 seats)4,3658.5%+4.9
Agora - Agir pour Mons Savine Moucheron (2 seats)3,2436.3%−2.4
DéFI Frédéric Hondekijn 9501.8%+1.8
Citoyen Nadia Dupont 7261.4%+1.4
Others1,7483.4%

Opinion polling:

Date(s) conductedPolling firmNewspaperSample size PS Mons en mieux! Agora Ecolo PTB DéFI CitoyenOthersLeadMajorityOppositionLead
April 2018IVoxLa Province [58]  ?39.2%20.2%6.1%10.111.6%4.1%3.5%1.219.0%45.3%49.5%4.2%
8 -15 Februari 2018DedicatedMR [59]  ?35.4%22.8%4.2%14.2%12.9%6.3%3.3% ?12.6%39.6%59.5%19.9%
29 September - 4 October 2017IVoxLa Province [60] 28638.2%18.1%7.1%9.3%18.4%—4.4%4.5%19.8%45.3%50.2%4.9%
14 October 2012Local elections55.2%17.9%8.7%8.8%3.6%—4.3%1.5% 37.3%63.9%34.6%29.3%

Namur

Namur (in Namur) is governed by a coalition of cdH, MR and Ecolo. Maxime Prévot of the cdH is the incumbent mayor.

2018 Namur City Council election
PartyMain candidateVotes%±%
cdH Maxime Prévot (Incumbent mayor) (16 seats)19,35929.3%−2.5
PS Eliane Tilleux (9 seats)12,19818.5%−9.9
Ecolo Philippe Noël (9 seats)11,21716.9%+2.8
MR Anne Barzin (6 seats)8,94413.6%−5.9
DéFI Pierre-Yves Dupuis (4 seats)5,7548.7%+8.7
PVDA-PTB Thierry Warmoes (3 seats)5,1287.8%+5.0
Others/3,4225.2%

Opinion polling:

Date(s) conductedPolling firmNewspaperSample size cdH PS MR Ecolo PTB DéFI OthersLeadMajorityOppositionLead
April 2018iVoxRTL / SudInfo [61]  ?18.5%20.1%19.9%9.9%11.2%14.2%6.2%0.2%48.3%45.5%2.8%
29 September - 4 October 2017iVoxRTL / SudInfo [62]  ?23.2%18.0%23.7%11.9%18.0%—5.2%0.5%58.8%36.0%22.8%
14 October 2012Local elections31.8%28.4%19.5%14.1%2.8%—3.4%3.4%65.4%31.2%34.2%

Wavre

Wavre (in Walloon Brabant) is governed by a majority of LB (La Liste du Bourgmestre, or "the Mayor's List"), which is the election list of the local MR faction. The incumbent mayor is federal Prime Minister Charles Michel, although he is currently only mayor in title. Françoise Pigeolet replaces him in performing the mayoral duties. Charles Michel announced that he will not succeed himself, as he wishes to concentrate on his duties as prime minister. The list of LB will be headed by Françoise Pigeolet.

2018 Wavre City Council election
PartyMain candidateVotes%±%
LB Françoise Pigeolet (16 seats)8,23940.6%−14.5
Ecolo Christophe Lejeune (8 seats)4,72523.4%+8.3
PS Kyriaki Michelis (3 seats)2,24411.1%−1.6
cdH Benoît Thoreau (2 seats)1,9339.5%−2.6
DéFI Luc D'Hondt (2 seats)1,4737.3%+7.3
Others/1,6538.2%

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Flemish Brabant is a province of Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium. It borders on the Belgian provinces of Antwerp, Limburg, Liège, Walloon Brabant, Hainaut and East Flanders. Flemish Brabant also surrounds the Brussels-Capital Region. Its capital is Leuven. It has an area of 2,118 km2 (818 sq mi) which is divided into two administrative districts containing 65 municipalities. As of January 2024, Flemish Brabant had a population of over 1.19 million.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Flanders</span> Province of Belgium

East Flanders is a province of Belgium. It borders the Dutch province of Zeeland and the Flemish province of Antwerp, Flemish Brabant, Hainaut and West Flanders. It has an area of 3,007 km2 (1,161 sq mi), divided into six administrative districts containing 60 municipalities, and a population of over 1.57 million as of January 2024. The capital is Ghent, home to the Ghent University and the Port of Ghent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ninove</span> City and municipality in Flemish Community, Belgium

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Politics of Flanders</span> Politics in a region of Belgium

Flanders is both a cultural community and an economic region within the Belgian state, and has significant autonomy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Political parties in Flanders</span>

Flemish political parties operate in the whole Flemish Community, which covers the unilingual Flemish Region and the bilingual Brussels-Capital Region. In the latter, they compete with French-speaking parties that all also operate in Wallonia. There are very few parties that operate on a national level in Belgium. Flanders generally tends to vote for right-wing, conservative parties, whereas in French-speaking Belgium the socialist party is usually the most successful one.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2006 Belgian local elections</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2007 Belgian federal election</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2010 Belgian federal election</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 Belgian local elections</span>

The Belgian provincial, municipal and district elections of 2012 took place on 14 October. As with the previous 2006 elections, these are no longer organised by the Belgian federal state but instead by the respective regions:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Di Rupo Government</span> Belgium cabinet of 2011–2014

The Di Rupo Government was the federal cabinet of Belgium sworn in on 6 December 2011, after a record-breaking 541 days of negotiations following the June 2010 elections. The government included social democrats (sp.a/PS), Christian democrats (CD&V/cdH) and liberals, respectively of the Dutch and French language groups. The government notably excluded the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA), the Flemish nationalist party which achieved a plurality and became the largest party. Its absence, together with the unwillingness of Open Vld to enter into an eight-party coalition that included the green parties, caused the government coalition to lack a majority in the Dutch language group. It was the first time that the Belgian prime minister had been openly gay, as Di Rupo became the world's first male openly gay head of government. Elio Di Rupo also became the first native French-speaking prime minister since 1979 and the first prime minister from Wallonia since 1974 and first socialist prime minister since 1974.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 Belgian federal election</span>

Federal elections were held in Belgium on 25 May 2014. All 150 members of the Chamber of Representatives were elected, whereas the Senate was no longer directly elected following the 2011–2012 state reform. These were the first elections held under King Philippe's reign.

Regional elections were held in Belgium on 25 May 2014 to choose representatives for the Flemish Parliament, Walloon Parliament, Brussels Parliament and the Parliament of the German-speaking Community. These elections were held on the same day as the 2014 European elections as well as the 2014 Belgian federal election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 Belgian federal election</span>

Federal elections were held in Belgium on 26 May 2019, alongside the country's European and regional elections. All 150 members of the Chamber of Representatives were elected from eleven multi-member constituencies.

In the run up to the 2019 Belgian federal election, various organisations carry out opinion polling to gauge voting intention in Belgium. Results of such polls are displayed in this article.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 Belgian regional elections</span>

The 2019 Belgian regional elections took place on Sunday 26 May, the same day as the 2019 European Parliament election as well as the Belgian federal election.

In the run up to the 2024 Belgian federal election, various organisations carried out opinion polling to gauge voting intention in Belgium. The results of nationwide polls are usually numerically split into the three Belgian regions: Flanders, Brussels and Wallonia. Federal seat projections for the Chamber of Representatives are presented together under these regional polls. The federal election was part of a group of elections which also include the regional elections and the European elections held on the same day. Some polls might be undefined voting intentions without differentiating between the elections.

In Belgium, the government formation of 2019–2020 started one day after the federal elections, regional elections and European elections which were all held simultaneously on 26 May 2019. These formations were only the second under King Philippe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 Belgian federal election</span>

Federal elections were held in Belgium on 9 June 2024. The Chamber of Representatives received 150 members with five-year terms. European and regional elections took place on the same day.

References

  1. ↑ Ordonnance assurant la présence minimum de deux candidats sur une liste se présentant aux élections communales, Moniteur belge, 3 April 2014
  2. ↑ Parlement de la Région de Bruxelles-capitale, Compte rendu intégral, Séance plénière du vendredi 28 mars 2014 (séance du matin)
  3. 1 2 François Witvrouw, "Le parti Islam sur les listes électorales de 14 des 19 communes bruxelloises", L'Echo, 6 April 2018
  4. ↑ Official lists of candidates in the Brussels-Capital Region, 21 September 2018
  5. ↑ "Ecolo-Groen grootste in peiling voor Brussel-Stad". bruzz.be. Bruzz. 11 October 2017.
  6. ↑ "Het grote Brusseldebat vanuit KANAL - Centre Pompidou". BRUZZ. 4 September 2018.
  7. ↑ "Communales: la tête de liste CDH à Bruxelles ne sera pas Joëlle Milquet mais Didier Wauters", La Libre Belgique , 18 January 2018
  8. ↑ "Peiling: Ecolo-Groen opnieuw grootste in Brussel-Stad". 17 April 2018.
  9. ↑ "Bruxelles: les politiques réagissent à notre sondage". Le Meuse. 11 October 2017.
  10. ↑ Belga, "Laurette Onkelinx quitte le conseil communal de Schaerbeek", Le Soir , 25 October 2017
  11. ↑ Jean-Claude Verset, "Isabelle Durant: "C'est le problème des partis qui occupent trop longtemps le pouvoir"", RTBF Info, 16 June 2017
  12. ↑ Karim Fadoul, "Ahmed Laaouej à Schaerbeek: un signe de plus ou un signe de moins", RTBF Info, 27 October 2016
  13. ↑ "Le député fédéral Ahmed Laaouej conduira la liste PS à Koekelberg", La Libre Belgique , 8 June 2017
  14. ↑ Belga, "M. Ozdemir exclue du cdH: Le conseiller schaerbeekois Seydi Sag prend ses distances avec le parti", La Libre Belgique , 23 June 2015
  15. ↑ Karim Fadoul, "Schaerbeek: le MR ne se présentera pas sur la Liste du Bourgmestre Bernard Clerfayt", RTBF Info, 19 January 2018
  16. ↑ "Schaerbeek: Vincent Vanhalewyn tête de liste Ecolo pour les communales 2018", BX1, 16 June 2017
  17. ↑ incumbent alderman since 2012
  18. ↑ Karim Fadoul, "Schaerbeek: les sages du PS choisissent Matthieu Degrez comme tête de liste", RTBF Info, 30 November 2017
  19. ↑ Karim Fadoul, "Schaerbeek: Denis Grimberghs désigné tête de liste cdH-CD&V", RTBF Info, 30 March 2018
  20. ↑ former (1991-1995) member of the federal House of Representatives, former (1995-2009) member of the Brussels Regional Parliament
  21. ↑ former alderman (2001-2012), municipal councillor since 1988
  22. ↑ member of the Brussels Regional Parliament
  23. ↑ former (2008-2009) member of the Brussels Regional Parliament for the National Front, former municipal councillor for the National Front (1994-1997), then for the Flemish Interest (1997-2000), reelected in 2000 on the DEMOL (FI) list, quit the council in 2005 to join again the National Front, back to the FI as a municipal candidate in 2012, then as a parliamentary candidate in 2014
  24. ↑ "Sondage à Schaerbeek: des élections qui n'ont rien d'un défi". La Capitale. 18 April 2018.
  25. ↑ "Bruxelles: Notre grand sondage: Clerfayt plébiscité par les Schaerbeekois". La Capitale. 11 October 2017.
  26. ↑ De N-VA zegt nee tegen stemrecht op 16 jaar, 29 May 2017, deredactie.be
  27. ↑ "De weemoed van een partijvoorzitter: is Crombez te eerlijk?". VRNTWS. 19 August 2018.
  28. ↑ "Jean-Jacques De Gucht lijsttrekker Open VLD in Aalst in 2018". 6 January 2018.
  29. ↑ "Aalst stevent af op zware coalitieonderhandelingen". Het Nieuwsblad (in Dutch). 27 September 2018.
  30. ↑ "D'Haese oppermachtig, meerderheid kan blijven". Goeiedag Aalst. 13 December 2017.
  31. ↑ "PEILING. N-VA verliest licht terrein in Antwerpen, Groen heeft wind in de zeilen". Gazet van Antwerpen. 5 October 2018.
  32. ↑ "Onze peiling voorspelt: Antwerpse politiek dreigt in de knoop te geraken". Het Nieuwsblad. 27 September 2018.
  33. ↑ "Fiasco met ultraorthodoxe jood blijft niet ongestraft: CD&V zakt naar 2 procent in Antwerpse peiling". Het Laatste Nieuws. 20 April 2018.
  34. 1 2 "Peiling Antwerpen: Nek-aan-nekrace tussen N-VA en Groen". Gazet van Antwerpen. 29 September 2017.[ permanent dead link ]
  35. ↑ "Exclusieve peiling in Antwerpen: burgemeester De Wever zit in zetel". Het Laatste Nieuws. 5 October 2015.
  36. ↑ "Peiling in Antwerpen: N-VA van De Wever krimpt, Groen haalt kaap van 20 procent". Het Laatste Nieuws. 30 March 2017.
  37. ↑ "De fauw op kop, exit Landuyt dreigt". Het Nieuwsblad. 27 September 2018.
  38. ↑ "Sp.a en Groen gaan in Gent opnieuw in kartel naar gemeenteraadsverkiezingen" (in Dutch). De Morgen. 11 June 2016.
  39. ↑ "Peiling voorspelt: stevent Gent af op zelfde coalitie?". Het Nieuwsblad. 27 September 2018.
  40. ↑ "Peiling Gent: winst voor Open Vld, socialisten zien af". Het Laatste Nieuws. 29 March 2017.
  41. ↑ "Na schandalen in Hasselt: bestuur verliest, N-VA is niet incontournable". Het Nieuwsblad. 27 September 2018.
  42. ↑ "Peiling: N-VA Hasselt wordt grootste partij, Steven Vandeput op kop in strijd om de Hasseltse sjerp". Het Belang Van Limburg. 16 September 2018.
  43. ↑ "Van Quickenborne is veruit de populairste burgemeester, maar zonder coalitie kan hij niet". De Standaard. 29 September 2018.
  44. ↑ "Leuven kiest voorlopig voor links: "Meerderheid met N-VA bijna ondenkbaar"". Het Nieuwsblad. 27 September 2018.
  45. ↑ "PEILING. Bart Somers veegt alle tegenstrevers van de mat in Mechelen". Gazet Van Antwerpen. 5 October 2018.
  46. ↑ "Stadslijst zou alleen kunnen besturen dankzij monsterscore". De Standaard. 29 September 2018.
  47. ↑ "Peiling Mechelen: Bart Somers met de vingers in de neus de grootste". Gazet Van Antwerpen. 29 September 2017.
  48. ↑ Tommelein wil einde tijdperk Vande Lanotte en socialisten in Oostende, 5 January 2017, deredactie.be
  49. ↑ "Oostendse verkiezingsstrijd spannender dan ooit, met sjerp als inzet". Het Nieuwsblad. 27 September 2018.
  50. ↑ The official results of the 2018 provincial elections in Wallonia, 14 October 2018, elections2018.wallonie.be
  51. ↑ "Arlon : "Pour vouS, c'est nous !"". La Libre. 9 September 2018.
  52. ↑ "Notre sondage à Charleroi: le PS en tête, mais historiquement bas". LaMeuse. 13 April 2017.
  53. ↑ "Notre sondage exclusif: Charleroi tremble avec le décollage du PTB qui écrase le PS!". SudInfo. 9 October 2017.
  54. ↑ "Liège-Ville: sondage intentions de vote". RCF. 30 August 2018.
  55. ↑ "Notre sondage à Liège: le PS reprend du poil de la bête". La Meuse. 15 April 2018.
  56. ↑ "Notre grand baromètre un an avant les élections: séisme politique à Liège, où le PTB deviendrait premier parti… devant le MR et non le PS!". SudInfo. 7 October 2017.
  57. ↑ "Le PS dégringole mais reste le premier parti à Liège, selon un sondage". RTL. 29 March 2017.
  58. ↑ "Sondage Sudpresse/iVOX: Nicolas Martin dépasse Di Rupo à Mons!". La Province. 17 April 2018.
  59. ↑ "Selon un sondage du MR, le PS perdrait sa majorité absolue à Mons". La Meuse. 8 March 2018.
  60. ↑ "Sondage élections 2018: à Mons le PS chute mais reste dominant". La Province. 12 October 2017.
  61. ↑ "Sondage communales: à Namur, la percée DéFI menace Maxime Prévot". La Meuse.
  62. ↑ "Notre sondage exclusif: à Prévot-ville aussi, le PTB fait un bond en avant". SudInfo.
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