The EU Parliament during the EU elections in June. (Credit: Michele Calamaio)
As the polling stations stood eerily empty and the streets bustled with unaware passersby, it was hard to reconcile the quiet apathy with the vibrancy of a city where the most important events of the Old Continent unfold.
Brussels is the home of the European Union’s political activity, yet its municipal elections in October lacked the same level of engagement. On the second Sunday of October—once every six years—Belgians head to the polls to elect their local representative. This time, even though voting is mandatory, the European capital witnessed an alarming drop in voter participation in all 19 communes, with only 80.6% of eligible voters casting ballots. This represents a significant decline of nearly 5% from the 84.9% registered in the 2018 local elections.
This historic low since the early 2000s marks a worrying trend in Western democracies and raises a crucial question: What factors contribute to a low voter turnout in a city that serves as the European Union’s hub for governmental and bureaucratic decision-making?
The challenge of civic engagement
“A large number of non-Belgians did not register to vote, making up 34% of potential voters,” said Emilie Van Haute, a political scientist at SciencePo ULB. Many abstained due to a combination of a lack of real sanctions, low civic duty, and political alienation. “Despite compulsory voting, residents feel entitled to dodge the ballot box,” she said.
The problem dates back to the 2012 elections, when Brussels’ local authorities, in collaboration with NGOs, think tanks, and the regional government attempted to boost voter registration among expatriates. However, they failed miserably, with only 26,000 EU citizens, out of a total of 200,000, and 8,000 non-EU residents of 51,000 eligible voters exercising their right to vote, showcasing a total disconnect from local political governance.
This sense of detachment is shared by Gianluca Martucci, an Italian Brussels correspondent and resident in Etterbeek. The journalist decided to vote, but he feels there is a “significant lack of individual willingness to engage,” particularly among expats, who feel detached from the political process. According to Martucci, when people are even aware of local elections, they “see voting as something distant that does not lead to concrete outcomes.”
A large portion of the voting population in the city consists of non-Belgians, nearly 300,000 between EU and non-EU citizens, making up about a third of the total voter base. Despite campaigning efforts from NGO restless.brussels to increase constituents’ participation, many in this electorate—an overall 19.4%—chose to abstain.
Piotr Maciej Kaczyński, a lecturer at the European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA) on EU political developments, agrees. The Polish researcher said that many residents in Brussels view their stay there as temporary. Thus, despite having the right to vote, “they don’t feel connected enough to engage in the electoral mechanism.” He says that the city’s transient workforce “comes and goes” and views it as a place of residence rather than a permanent home, lacking a sense of rootedness.
The big communication gap
This leads to another significant obstacle in the complex web of Belgian administrative fragmentation: insufficient communication from local authorities about voting rights and the polling system.
Clara Schlosser, a Belgian resident in Saint-Gilles, believes the voting process could be made simpler for non-Belgians, as it is for Belgian nationals.
“I automatically receive my ballot,” she said. “But some of my international friends have to physically go to the municipality to register, an effort that turns a civil duty into a burden.”
Gianmarco Italia, an Italian climate policy officer at the EU Commission, was frustrated by the voting process. Despite his desire to vote in his municipality, he was unable to do so due to a missed registration deadline, a consequence of a lack of timely and personalized communication from the administration, he said.
“Although there was some leaflet distribution, I didn’t feel I had been adequately informed,” he said.
The city has promised to issue fines ranging between €25 and €125 for noncompliance to those who don’t vote, but Van Haute emphasized that, since 2003, no one has faced penalties for not voting.
Voter fatigue and political disillusionment
Residents feel particularly overwhelmed by the number of different elections. “The sheer number of voting events in the same year—federal, federate, and EU elections—led to confusion and exhaustion among voters,” said Aline Mairiaux, a financial controller at the Brussels-Capital Region administration. With the regional government still unformed due to entrenched political divides and prolonged negotiations, many residents, she suggests, felt their votes held little weight in these elections at the municipal level, where local issues directly affecting their lives remain unresolved. This “further alienates them from the electoral process.”
Ashley De Backer, head of Animal Welfare at the Brussels-Capital Region government, argues that municipal administrations do not listen to their residents’ needs, pushing them to “feel excluded from the decision-making” that could concretely impact their daily lives.
“People don’t feel committed anymore,” she emphasized.
Even former Brussels City Council member Joanna Kamińska agrees. Brussels over the years has become a “no man’s land” where people, particularly internationals in the EU bubble, “have no idea about Belgian politics, still watch their local news, and feel completely disconnected.”
About the author(s)
Michele Calamaio is an Italian Stabile investigative fellow at Columbia Journalism School, former Reuters, AP, and Euractiv reporter, and Google News Initiative fellow at Italy's La Repubblica.