Elections

Federal elections

All Belgians registered in the consular registers, who fill the following conditions, are subject to the obligation to vote:

• Be of Belgian nationality on the day the electoral lists are closed (80 days before elections in Belgium)
• Be 18 years of age on voting day in Belgium
• Be registered in the consular registers on the closing date of the registration
• Not be stripped of the right to vote on the date of elections in Belgium

To exercise your right to vote, you need to register as a voter by filling in the form for the federal elections. The municipality to which you are connected (“gemeente van aanhechting” / “commune de rattachement”) is predefined by law and cannot be modified. There are 6 different categories. If and only if the first category does not apply to your situation, you may descend to the next step. If your form was pre-filled, you may not change the category. If the city was not filled in, this only means that you have a choice between several cities in that category. 

In addition, you must also indicate how you wish to exercise your right to vote:

• Personally in Belgium: You will personally have to go to your city of attachment.
• By proxy in Belgium: You can give a proxy to a person living in your city of attachment. The person chosen can only be the proxy of one person.
• Personally in the consular post where you are registered: Only applicable to career diplomatic/consular posts. You will have to come to Helsinki.
• By proxy in the consular post where you are registered: You may give your proxy to another Belgian living in the same jurisdiction as yourself. This person may only be the proxy of one person.
• By correspondence: You will receive an electoral envelope which you will have to send back, duly completed and signed.

You should also fill in the form “declaration on honour”. If you have chosen to vote by power of attorney, please also fill in the power of attorney form. You can find the forms available in Dutch, in French and in German.
 

What comes to the European elections, you have a choice to vote either for the Belgian or local (Finnish or Estonian) candidates. Thus, only if you wish to vote for Belgian candidates should you fill in our form for the European elections (available in Dutch, in French and in German). In that case, you do not have the right to vote in the same European elections in Finland or Estonia