Are you voting, by the way?

By noelleanneosullivan on http://noelleanneosullivan.wordpress.com/

Are you one of the 509,000 ^[1] non-Belgian EU citizens that are eligible to vote in Belgium for the European elections this year?

So, by this stage you’ve signed up at your local commune to be on the electoral lists for voting in the European Parliament elections on 7 June, yes?

No ??

Latest figures (21 March 09) from the Direction Général Institutions et Population  for the region of Bruxelles-capitale show that only between 3 and 12% of eligible EU voters actually have signed up to vote for the 7 June elections ^[2]. Ironically, in communes like Etterbeek, raising the house-prices to infinity with politically –aware multi-lingual, pro-democracy Europeans, only 462 people have signed up to vote out of the 11,217 who are eligible to.

That’s myself, and 461 others. 

If you’re a EU national and a non-Belgian living in Belgium, with your residence here, and you want to vote in the euro-elections, then here’s how you do it. But, you’d need to act fast!

1. Log onto the government website Direction des Elections du Service public fédéral Intérieur
2. Download a C1 form and fill it in and sign it
3. Attach a copy of your ID
4. And fax it, email it, post it or hand it in to your commune (Service de Population) before Tuesday 31 March 2009

Rules for voting in your country of origin differ between countries. Some allow proxy voting. Some allow postal voting. Some allow voting in the embassy or consulate, though you may need to be a member of the Armed Forces or a diplomat posted abroad to do this. Check with your Electoral Commission office back in your home country.

For UK and Irish voters, rules say that you should be living there for the 3-6 months prior to the elections, for you to be eligible to vote. Here are some website addresses for Electoral offices.

United Kingdom

Ireland

Essential points to remember:

Once you’re on the electoral list having expressed a wish to vote, you then must vote. It’s obligatory here in Belgium and you either have to provide a very good reason why you couldn’t vote that day, or you can be fined.

You will be able to vote only for Belgian candidates, from Francophone, Flemish-speaking or German-speaking parties.

You can’t vote twice, and can’t vote for MEP candidates in your home country, if you’re registered here.

This is the card that will be posted to you once your application to be registered on the electoral roll is accepted by your commune, and which you take to the commune on 7 June.