Luxembourg general election, 2018

Luxembourg general election, 2018

14 October 2018
All 60 seats of the Chamber of Deputies. 31 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	89.66%
First party Second party Third party   Leader Claude Wiseler Etienne Schneider Xavier Bettel Party CSV LSAP DP Last election 23 seats, 33.66% 13 seats, 20.28% 13 seats, 18.27% Seats won 21 10 12 Seat change 2 3 1 Popular vote 999,381 621,332 597,080 Percentage 28.31% 17.60% 16.91%   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Françoise Folmer  and Christian Kmiotek Jean Schoos Sven Clement Party DG ADR Pirates Last election 6 seats, 10.13% 3 seats, 6.64% 0 seats, 2.94% Seats won 9 4 2 Seat change 3 1 2 Popular vote 533,893 292,388 227,549 Percentage 15.12% 8.28% 6.45%   Seventh party   Leader collective leadership Party DL Last election 2 seats, 4.94% Seats won 2 Seat change 0 Popular vote 193,594 Percentage 5.48%
Prime Minister before election Xavier Bettel DP Elected Prime Minister TBD

General elections were held in Luxembourg on 14 October 2018. All 60 seats of the Chamber of Deputies were elected.

The incumbent Bettel–Schneider Ministry was made up of a coalition of the Democratic Party (DP), the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party (LSAP), and The Greens. The largest party in Parliament, the Christian Social People's Party (CSV), was in the opposition.

Date

There was some debate about when the election ought to be held. Article 56 of the Constitution of Luxembourg defines that deputies are elected for a five-year term, which would mean holding an election by October 2018, five years after the 20 October 2013 snap election. However, article 123 of the Electoral Law of 2003 states that "In case of dissolution of the Chamber, the end of tenure dates for deputies elected after the dissolution, will occur in the year following the opening of the fifth ordinary session." Since the fifth ordinary session would be opened in late 2018, the election would need to be held in 2019, likely concurrent with the June 2019 European Parliament elections, exceeding the constitutional five-year term. The electoral law was thus seen as conflicting with the constitution, and the politicians intended to amend the law and hold general elections in October 2018.^[1][2] The law modification of 15 December 2017 removes June as month for regular parliamentary elections, and instead fixes the election date when the parliamentary term expires, i.e. five years after the previous election.^[3][4]

Electoral system

Map of Luxembourg's constituencies with number of seats

The 60 members of the Chamber of Deputies will be elected by proportional representation in four multi-member constituencies; 9 in Nord constituency, 7 in Est, 23 in Sud and 21 in Centre. Voters can vote for a party list or cast multiple votes for as many candidates as there are seats. Seat allocation is calculated in accordance with the Hagenbach-Bischoff quota.^[5]

Only Luxembourg citizens may vote in general elections. A proposal to extend voting rights to foreigners who have lived in Luxembourg for at least 10 years and have previously voted in a European or local election in Luxembourg, was decisively rejected in a 2015 referendum. Voting is mandatory for eligible Luxembourg citizens who live in Luxembourg and are under 75 years of age.^[6] Luxembourg citizens who live abroad may vote by post at the commune in which they most recently lived in Luxembourg.^[7] Luxembourg citizens who were born in Luxembourg but have never lived there may vote by post at the commune in which they were born.^[7] Luxembourg citizens who were not born in Luxembourg and have never lived there may vote by post at the commune of Luxembourg City.^[7]

Campaign

On 2 March 2018, the Alternative Democratic Reform Party announced an electoral alliance with the Wee 2050-Nee 2015 movement, which had formed itself as a citizen's movement fighting for the "3 x no" in the 2015 referendum. This agreement gives the movement up to eight slots on the ADR's lists.^[8]

Opinion polls

Contesting parties

The following parties are contending in the election:^[9]

• List 1: Pirate Party
• List 2: The Greens
• List 3: Socialist Workers' Party
• List 4: Christian Social People's Party
• List 5: Communist Party
• List 6: Democratic Party
• List 7: Alternative Democratic Reform Party
• List 8: The Left
• List 9: Democracy (only presenting lists in the South and Centre constituencies)
• List 10: The Conservatives (only presenting a list in the South constituency)

Results

References