Belgian local elections, 2018

Belgian local elections, 2018
14 October 2018 (2018-10-14)
All 10 provincial councils
All 581 municipal councils
All 8 directly elected OCMW/CPAS councils
All 9 Antwerp city district councils

The Belgian provincial, municipal and district elections of 2018 will take place on Sunday 14 October 2018. They 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.

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 would be held somewhere in May–June 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:

  • Dutch-speaking parties, generally contending in Flanders and Brussels: N-VA (nationalist), CD&V (Christian democrats), sp.a (socialists), Open VLD (liberals), Groen (ecologists), Vlaams Belang (far-right), PvdA (Marxist)
  • French-speaking parties, generally contending in Wallonia and Brussels: PS (socialists), MR (liberals), DéFI (regionalists/liberals), CdH (Christian democrats), Ecolo (ecologists), PTB (Marxist)
  • German-speaking parties, generally contending in several German-speaking municipalities in Wallonia

Voters

All Belgian citizens aged 18 or over are automatically registered and are obligated 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 Community49,3741,70914.97% 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 will be 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.

Brussels City Council election, 2018
Party Main candidate Votes % ±
PS Philippe Close (Incumbent mayor)
MR Alain Courtois
cdH Didier Wauters[7]
ECOLO Benoît Hellings
DéFI Fabian Maingain
PVDA+/PTB Mathilde El Bakri
N-VA Johan Van den Driessche
Change.Brussels Ans Persoons
Others

Opinion polling:

Date(s) conducted Polling firm Newspaper Sample size PS MR-Open Vld cdH-CD&V Ecolo-Groen DéFI N-VA Vlaams Belang PTB/PVDA sp.a Others Lead Majority Opposition Lead
April 2018 iVox La Capitale [8] ? 17.4% 18.4% 12.7% 19.7% 13.4% 4.5% N/A 6.4% 0.0% 7.5% 1.3% 35.8% 56.7% 20.9%
October 2017 iVox RTL / SudInfo [9] ? 14.2% 15.8% 13.8% 20.9% 11.7% 5.1% N/A 11.4% 0.8% 6.3% 5.1% 30.0% 63.7% 33.7%
14 October 2012 Local elections 29.1% 17.9% 18.0% 12.4% 7.6% 4.3% 2.2% 1.6% N/A 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. 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]

Schaerbeek City Council election, 2018
Party Main candidate Votes % ±
Liste du Bourgmestre Bernard Clerfayt (Incumbent mayor)
PS Mathieu Degrez[16]
ECOLO Vincent Vanhalewyn[17][18]
MR Georges Verzin[19]
cdH Denis Grimberghs[20][21]
PVDA+/PTB Axel Bernard
N-VA Cieltje Van Achter[22]
Vlaams Belang Patrick Sessler[23]
Others /

Opinion polling:

Date(s) conducted Polling firm Newspaper Sample size LB PS-sp.a Ecolo-Groen MR-Open Vld cdH-CD&V PTB/PVDA N-VA Others Lead Majority Opposition Lead
April 2018 iVox RTL / 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 2017 iVox RTL / 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 2012 Local elections 32.7% 25.1% 13.4% 9.6% 9.1% 3.4% 2.2% 4.6% 7.6% 64.8% 30.7% 34.1%

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

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.

Party  Antwerp  East Flanders  Flemish Brabant  Limburg  West Flanders Total
CD&V
Vlaams Belang
Groen
N-VA
Open Vld
PVDA+
sp.a
UF ————
Others
Total 36 (Decrease 36)36 (Decrease 36)36 (Decrease 36)31 (Decrease 32)36 (Decrease 36)175 (Decrease 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.

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]

Aalst City Council election, 2018
Party Main candidate Votes % ±
N-VA Christoph D'Haese (Incumbent mayor)
CD&V Ilse Uyttersprot
Open Vld Jean-Jacques De Gucht
lijstA Ann Van de Steen*
sp.a Sam Van De Putte
Vlaams Belang Michel Van Brempt
Groen Lander Wantens
PVDA+/PTB Alexander Van Ransbeeck
Others /
  • Split from Socialist Party Differently

Opinion polling:

Date(s) conducted Polling firm Newspaper Sample size N-VA CD&V Open Vld sp.a SDP Vlaams Belang Groen PVDA Others Lead Majority Opposition Lead
17–24 September 2018 Indiville Het 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% N/A 11.8% 52.2% 41.0% 11.2%
14 October 2012 Local elections 31.1% 17.3% 17.3% 16.4% N/A 10.8% 5.9% 1.2% N/A 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. 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.

Antwerp City Council election, 2018
Party Main candidate Votes % ±
N-VA Bart De Wever (Incumbent mayor)
CD&V Kris Peeters
Groen Wouter Van Besien
sp.a Jinnih Beels
Open Vld Philippe De Backer
Vlaams Belang Filip Dewinter
PVDA+/PTB Peter Mertens
Others

Opinion polling:

Date(s) conducted Polling firm Newspaper Sample size N-VA CD&V sp.a Groen Vlaams Belang PVDA Open Vld Others Lead Majority Opposition Lead
September 2018 Ipsos Gazet van Antwerpen [31] 802 32.2% 7.0% 13.0% 20.2% 12.6% 8.1% 5.5% 1.4% 12.0% 44.7% 53.9% 9.2%
17–24 September Indiville Het Nieuwsblad [32] 1586 29.9% 7.1% 16.0% 19.2% 11.6% 8.3% 5.8% 1.0% 10.7% 42.8% 55.1% 12.3%
April 2018 Ivox Het Laatste Nieuws [33] 800 35.0% 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 2017 Ipsos Gazet van Antwerpen [34] 800 29.5% 8.9% 30.6% 8.8% 9.9% 7.1% 5.2% 1.1% 45.5% 49.3% 3.8%
September 2017 Ipsos Gazet van Antwerpen [34] 800 26.1% 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 2017 Ipsos VRT / Het Laatste Nieuws [35] 600 29.3% 14.1% 13.1% 20.1% 9.6% 8.3% 5.5% N/A 9.2% 48.9% 51.1% 2.2%
8–22 September 2015 ? VTM / Het Laatste Nieuws [36] 800 34.4% 7.4% 19.1% 16.3% 9.6% 6.0% 7.1% N/A 15.3% 48.9% 51.0% 2.1%
14 October 2012 Local elections 37.7% 28.6% 7.9% 10.2% 8.0% 5.5% 2.0% 9.1% N/A N/A N/A

Most Favorable mayor:

score on scale of one to ten

Date(s) conducted Polling firm Newspaper Sample size De Wever Peeters Beels Van Besien Dewinter Mertens De Backer
April 2018 Ivox Het Laatste Nieuws 800 6.3 4.2 5.0 5.1 3.6 4.8 4.8

Bruges

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.

Bruges City Council election, 2018
Party Main candidate Votes % ±
sp.a Renaat Landuyt (Incumbent)
CD&V Dirk De Fauw
N-VA Pol Van Den Driessche
Open Vld Mercedes Van Volcem
Groen Raf Reuse
Vlaams Belang Stefaan Sintobin
PVDA+/PTB Mieke Van Hoorde
Others /
Date(s) conducted Polling firm Newspaper Sample size sp.a CD&V N-VA Open Vld Groen Vlaams Belang PVDA Others Lead Majority Opposition Lead
17–24 September 2018 Indiville Het Nieuwsblad [37] 16.2% 28.0% 14.4% 15.3% 12.3% 6.9% 4.1% 0.1% 11.8% 44.2% 53.0 8.8%
14 October 2012 Local elections 26.8% 26.7% 19.8% 11.0% 8.8% 5.4% N/A 1.6% 0.1% 53.5% 45.0% 8.5%

Ghent

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 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.[38] Rudy Coddens replaced him in February 2017.

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

Ghent City Council election, 2018
Party Main candidate Votes % ±
sp.a-Groen Rudy Coddens
N-VA Anneleen Van Bossuyt
Open Vld Mathias De Clercq
CD&V Mieke Van Hecke
Vlaams Belang Johan Deckmyn
PVDA+/PTB Tom De Meester
Others /

Opinion polling:

Date(s) conducted Polling firm Newspaper Sample size sp.a-Groen N-VA Open Vld CD&V Vlaams Belang PVDA Others Lead Majority Opposition Lead
17–24 September 2018 Indiville Het Nieuwsblad [39] 860 37.2% 13.4% 23.4% 5.1% 7.4% 7.9% 3.9% 13.8% 60.6% 33.8% 26.8%
6–17 March 2017 Ipsos HLN [40] 600 38.8% 17.2% 22.5% 10.3% 5.4% 5.8% N/A 16.3% 61.3% 38.7% 22.6%
14 October 2012 Local elections 45.5% 17.1% 16.5% 9.1% 6.5% 2.9% 2.4% 28.4% 62.0% 35.6% 26.4%

Hasselt

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

Hasselt City Council election, 2018
Party Main candidate Votes % ±
CD&V Nadja Vananroye (Incumbent)
N-VA Steven Vandeput
sp.a-Groen Marc Schepers
Open Vld Hans Similon
Vlaams Belang Frank Troosters
PVDA+/PTB Kim De Witte
Others /

Opinion polling:

Date(s) conducted Polling firm Newspaper Sample size Rood-Groen N-VA CD&V Open Vld Vlaams Belang PVDA Others Lead Majority Opposition Lead
17–24 September Indiville Het 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 2018 iVox hbvl [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 2012 Local elections 33.0% 25.5% 22.7% 9.9% 5.5% N/A 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.

Kortrijk City Council election, 2018
Party Main candidate Votes % ±
Open Vld Vincent Van Quickenborne (Incumbent mayor)
CD&V Hannelore Vanhoenacker
N-VA Axel Ronse
sp.a Philippe De Coene
Groen David Wemel
Vlaams Belang Wouter Vermeersch
PVDA+/PTB Jouwe Vanhoutteghem
Others
Date(s) conducted Polling firm Newspaper Sample size CD&V Open Vld N-VA sp.a Groen Vlaams Belang PVDA Others Lead Majority Opposition Lead
17–24 September 2018 Indiville De Standaard [43] 387 22.7% 20.6% 16.0% 10.9% 10.3% 9.6% ? 8.3% 2.1% 47.5% 42.6% 4.9%
14 October 2012 Local elections 33.0% 21.3% 16.3% 14.3% 7.4% 6.1% 1.2% 0.5% 11.7% 51.9% 47.7% 4.2%

Leuven

Leuven (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 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.

Leuven City Council election, 2018
Party Main candidate Votes % ±
sp.a Mohamed Ridouani
N-VA Lorin Parys
CD&V Carl Devlies
Open Vld Rik Daems
Groen David Dessers
Vlaams Belang Hagen Goyvaerts
PVDA+/PTB Line De Witte
others /
Date(s) conducted Polling firm Newspaper Sample size sp.a N-VA CD&V Groen Open Vld Vlaams Belang PVDA Others Lead Majority Opposition Lead
17–24 September 2018 Indiville Het 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 2012 Local elections 31.4% 19.0% 18.5% 15.5% 7.8% 3.7% 2.8% 1.2% 12.4% 49.9% 48.8% 1.1%

Mechelen

Mechelen (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.

Mechelen City Council election, 2018
Party Main candidate Votes % ±
Open vld-Groen Bart Somers (Incumbent)
sp.a Caroline Gennez
N-VA Freya Perdaens
CD&V Wim Soons
Vlaams Belang Frank Creyelman
PVDA+/PTB Dirk Tuypens
Others /

Opinion polling:

Date(s) conducted Polling firm Newspaper Sample size Open Vld-Groen N-VA sp.a CD&V Vlaams Belang PVDA Others Lead Majority Opposition Lead
September 2017 Ipsos Gazet Van Antwerpen [45] 600 51.7% 16.5% 10.4% 7.9% 7.1% 5.9% 0.5% 35.2% 76.1% 23.4% 52.7%
17–24 September 2018 Indiville De Standaard [46] 508 46.2% 18.9% 9.0% 8.0% 7.5% 7.0% 1.9% 27.6% 73.1% 23.5% 49.6%
September 2017 Ipsos Gazet Van Antwerpen [47] 600 42.0% 18.4% 14.0% 10.6% 7.0% 4.7% 3.3% 23.6% 71.0% 25.7% 45.3%
14 October 2012 Local elections 33.9% 23.2% 18.2% 12.4% 8.7% 3.0% 0.6% 10.7% 69.5% 29.9% 39.6%

Ostend

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]

Ostend City Council election, 2018
Party Main candidate Votes % ±
Stadslijst Johan Vande Lanotte (Incumbent mayor)
Open Vld Bart Tommelein
N-VA Björn Anseeuw
CD&V Krista Claeys
Groen Wouter De Vriendt
Vlaams Belang Christian Verougstraete
PVDA+/PTB Ilona Vandenberghe
Others /
Date(s) conducted Polling firm Newspaper Sample size Stads. N-VA Open Vld Groen CD&V Vlaams Belang PVDA Others Lead Majority Opposition Lead
17–24 September 2018 Indiville Het 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 2012 Local elections 32.1% 22.7% 13.5% 10.1% 9.5% 7.7% N/A 4.4% 9.4% 55.1% 40.5% 14.6%

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 will be elected. The numbers of councillors are unchanged compared to 2012.

Province Total seats
 Namur37
 Walloon Brabant37
 Liège56
 Hainaut56
 Luxembourg37
Total223

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.[50]

Arlon City Council election, 2018
Party Main candidate Votes % ±
cdH Vincent Magnus (Incumbent mayor)
Pour vouS André Perpète
MR Carine Lecomte
ECOLO Romain Gaudron
Others

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+".

Charleroi City Council election, 2018
Party Main candidate Votes % ±
PS Paul Magnette (Incumbent mayor)
MR Cyprien Devilers
C+ Eric Goffart
ECOLO Xavier Desgain
PVDA+/PTB Sofie Merckx
DéFI Jean-Noël Gillard
AGIR
Others /

Opinion polling:

Date(s) conducted Polling firm Newspaper Sample size PS MR C+ Ecolo Défi PTB AGIR Others Lead Majority Opposition Lead
13 April 2018 IVox La Meuse [51] 600 28.1% 13.1% 9.3% 7.2% 3.5% 20.1% 6.8% 11.9% 8.0% 50.5% 37.6% 12.9%
9 October 2017 IVox La Meuse [52] 600 23.4% 12.0% 9.6% 7.1% 2.7% 25.4% 8.0% 11.8% 2.0% 45.0% 43.2% 1.8%
14 October 2012 Local elections 47.7% 16.3% 10.6% 7.4% 1.8% 3.4% 5.8% 7.0% 31.4 74.6% 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".

Liège City Council election, 2018
Party Main candidate Votes % ±
PS Willy Demeyer (Incumbent mayor)
MR Christine Defraigne
cdH Carine Clotuche
Vert Ardent Caroline Saal
PVDA+/PTB Sophie Lecron
DéFI François Pottié
Others

Opinion polling:

Date(s) conducted Polling firm Newspaper Sample size PS MR cdH Ecolo PP PTB DéFI Vert Ardent Others Lead Majority Opposition Lead
26 June - 7 August 2018 Butterfly Research RCF [53] 432 34.0% 18.3% 11.8% N/A 2.2% 10.1% 1.2% 17.8% 6.8% 15.7% 45.8% 49.6% 3.8%
April 2018 IVox La Meuse [54] ? 27.4% 21.4% 8.4% N/A ? 20.9% 4.4% 14.0% ? 6.0% 35.8% 60.7% 24.9%
9 October 2017 IVox La Meuse [55] 600 20.5% 25.4% 9.5% 12.4% 1.9% 28.3% N/A N/A 2.0% 3.3% 30.0% 68.0% 38.0%
13–20 March 2017 Ipsos RTL/Le Soir [56] 600 22.7% 16.1% 8.0% 21.0% ? 16.8% N/A N/A 15.4% 1.7% 30.7% 53.9% 23.2%
14 October 2012 Local elections 38.0% 21.2% 14.0% 12.3% 2.2% 6.4% N/A N/A 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").

Mons City Council election, 2018
Party Main candidate Votes % ±
PS Nicolas Martin
Mons en mieux! Georges-Louis Bouchez
Agora - Agir pour Mons
ECOLO
PVDA+/PTB
DéFI
Citoyen
Others

Opinion polling:

Date(s) conducted Polling firm Newspaper Sample size PS Mons en mieux! Agora Ecolo PTB DéFI Citoyen Others Lead Majority Opposition Lead
April 2018 IVox La Province [57] ? 39.2% 20.2% 6.1% 10.1 11.6% 4.1% 3.5% 1.2 19.0% 45.3% 49.5% 4.2%
8 -15 Februari 2018 Dedicated MR [58] ? 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 2017 IVox La Provence [59] 286 38.2% 18.1% 7.1% 9.3% 18.4% N/A 4.4% 4.5% 19.8% 45.3% 50.2% 4.9%
14 October 2012 Local elections 55.2% 17.9% 8.7% 8.8% 3.6% N/A 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.

Namur City Council election, 2018
Party Main candidate Votes % ±
cdH Maxime Prévot (Incumbent mayor)
PS Eliane Tilleux
MR Anne Barzin
ECOLO Philippe Noël
PVDA+/PTB Thierry Warmoes
DéFI Pierre-Yves Dupuis
Others /

Opinion polling:

Date(s) conducted Polling firm Newspaper Sample size cdH PS MR Ecolo PTB DéFI Others Lead Majority Opposition Lead
April 2018 iVox RTL / SudInfo [60] ? 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 2017 iVox RTL / SudInfo [61] ? 23.2% 18.0% 23.7% 11.9% 18.0% N/A 5.2% 0.5% 58.8% 36.0% 22.8%
14 October 2012 Local elections 31.8% 28.4% 19.5% 14.1% 2.8% N/A 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.

Wavre City Council election, 2018
Party Main candidate Votes % ±
LB Françoise Pigeolet
PS Kyriaki Michelis
cdH Benoît Thoreau
ECOLO Christophe Lejeune
DéFI Luc D'Hondt
Others /

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. 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. ↑ Karim Fadoul, "Schaerbeek: les sages du PS choisissent Matthieu Degrez comme tête de liste", RTBF Info, 30 November 2017
  17. ↑ "Schaerbeek: Vincent Vanhalewyn tête de liste Ecolo pour les communales 2018", BX1, 16 June 2017
  18. ↑ incumbent alderman since 2012
  19. ↑ former alderman (2001-2012), municipal councillor since 1988
  20. ↑ Karim Fadoul, "Schaerbeek: Denis Grimberghs désigné tête de liste cdH-CD&V", RTBF Info, 30 March 2018
  21. ↑ former (1991-1995) member of the federal House of Representatives, former (1995-2009) member of the Brussels Regional Parliament
  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 Nieuwblad. 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 Nieuwblad. 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.
  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 Nieuwblad. 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 Nieuwblad. 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 Nieuwblad. 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 Nieuwblad. 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 Nieuwblad. 27 September 2018.
  50. ↑ "Arlon : "Pour vouS, c'est nous !"". La Libre. 9 September 2018.
  51. ↑ "Notre sondage à Charleroi: le PS en tête, mais historiquement bas". LaMeuse. 13 April 2017.
  52. ↑ "Notre sondage exclusif: Charleroi tremble avec le décollage du PTB qui écrase le PS!". SudInfo. 9 October 2017.
  53. ↑ "Liège-Ville: sondage intentions de vote". RCF. 30 August 2018.
  54. ↑ "Notre sondage à Liège: le PS reprend du poil de la bête". La Meuse. 15 April 2018.
  55. ↑ "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.
  56. ↑ "Le PS dégringole mais reste le premier parti à Liège, selon un sondage". RTL. 29 March 2017.
  57. ↑ "Sondage Sudpresse/iVOX: Nicolas Martin dépasse Di Rupo à Mons!". La Province. 17 April 2018.
  58. ↑ "Selon un sondage du MR, le PS perdrait sa majorité absolue à Mons". La Meuse. 8 March 2018.
  59. ↑ "Sondage élections 2018: à Mons le PS chute mais reste dominant". La Province. 12 October 2017.
  60. ↑ "Sondage communales: à Namur, la percée DéFI menace Maxime Prévot". La Meuse.
  61. ↑ "Notre sondage exclusif: à Prévot-ville aussi, le PTB fait un bond en avant". SudInfo.
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