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by | Mar 16, 2018 | Hosta

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The 2024 Belgian provincial, municipal and district elections will take place on Sunday 13 October 2024.[1] They take place four months after the simultaneous European, federal and regional elections.

The local elections are organised by the respective regions:

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.

As reflected in the number of municipalities above, some municipalities are merging. One of them, Borsbeek, merged with the city of Antwerp, becoming its tenth district.[2] In Wallonia, only Bastogne and Bertogne are merging. The mergers take effect following the 2024 elections, when the councils of the newly formed entities are elected.

Flanders

The Flemish decree of 16 July 2021 reformed the local electoral process, abolishing compulsory voting in Flemish local elections.[3] Voting remains obligatory in Brussels and Walloon local elections.

The decree also changed several election rules for Flemish municipal elections:

  • the list vote is abolished; only preference votes count.
  • The candidate with the highest number of preferences vote of the list wit the most votes has the exclusive right to form a coalition during two weeks.
  • The candidate with the highest number of preferences votes of the largest party within the formed coalition will be mayor by law.

This incentivises forming larger, joint lists instead of smaller, separate ones.

Municipal elections

Antwerp

Two-term mayor Bart De Wever (N-VA) is candidate to continue governing the most populous city, Antwerp.[4]

Gent

Open Vld (with mayor Mathias De Clercq) and Groen (with first alderman Filip Watteeuw) are the two main political parties since the 2018 elections. The current governing coalition is composed of Vooruit-Groen (a joint list in 2018), Open Vld and CD&V. Open Vld and Vooruit will now form a joint "Voor Gent" list, opposing a Groen list.[5]

Mechelen

Bart Somers, mayor of Mechelen since 2001, became Flemish minister in 2019 but returned as mayor in November 2023. He will head the "Voor Mechelen" list, composed of the Open Vld, Groen and M+ governing coalition.[6]

References

  1. ^ "Verkiezingen 2024: Wanneer moeten we gaan stemmen? En wat kiezen we precies?". VRT NWS. 14 December 2023.
  2. ^ "Borsbeek keurt fusie goed en wordt in 2025 tiende district van Antwerpen". VRT NWS. 18 December 2023.
  3. ^ "Opkomstplicht op lokaal en provinciaal niveau afgeschaft: straks ook niet meer verplicht stemmen voor federale verkiezingen?". Het Laatste Nieuws. 15 July 2021.
  4. ^ "Bart De Wever is in oktober opnieuw kandidaat-burgemeester in Antwerpen". VRT NWS. 20 January 2024.
  5. ^ "Liberalen en socialisten keuren stadslijst "Voor Gent" goed en trekken samen naar verkiezingen in 2024". Het Laatste Nieuws. 26 March 2023.
  6. ^ "Bart Somers licht ontslag toe en stelt nieuwe stadslijst 'Voor Mechelen' voor: Somers wordt lijsttrekker, Calvo lijstduwer". Het Laatste Nieuws. 7 November 2023.

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