{"id":56407,"date":"2024-05-22T17:08:19","date_gmt":"2024-05-22T17:08:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/22\/belgiums-2024-election-what-to-know\/"},"modified":"2024-05-22T17:08:19","modified_gmt":"2024-05-22T17:08:19","slug":"belgiums-2024-election-what-to-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/22\/belgiums-2024-election-what-to-know\/","title":{"rendered":"Belgium\u2019s 2024 Election: What to Know"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1050\" height=\"550\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/05\/22\/multimedia\/22belgium-election-pltk\/22belgium-election-pltk-facebookJumbo.jpg?resize=1050,550&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Belgium\u2019s 2024 Election: What to Know\" title=\"Belgium\u2019s 2024 Election: What to Know\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">For a relatively small country of 11.5 million in northern Europe, Belgium punches above its weight in political relevance and drama, all of which is set to play out on June 9 when Belgians head to the polls.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Brussels, the capital, is the home of the European Union institutions and NATO. The country\u2019s complex identity has long made it a subject of fascination and puzzlement. It is a federation split to a great degree between two communities, the Dutch-speaking Flemish population and the Francophone Walloons, as well as a very small German-speaking minority.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In its historical efforts to accommodate divisions between those communities while keeping the country together, Belgium has created a convoluted governance structure affectionately called \u201cadministrative lasagna\u201d \u2014 and it\u2019s an accurate depiction of layers upon layers of bureaucracy at work.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">On June 9, Belgians will head to the polls to elect not only their <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/05\/14\/world\/europe\/european-union-2024-election-what-to-know.html\" title=\"\">representatives in the European Parliament<\/a>, like hundreds of millions of other people across the European Union, but also their officials for the federal and regional layers of that government lasagna.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<p><h2 class=\"css-9ycfei eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-544caec2\">Why does this election matter?<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">With political extremes riding high in the polls, forging a national government is looking thornier than ever in the country that once took almost 18 months after an election to form a governing coalition, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/archive.nytimes.com\/query.nytimes.com\/gst\/fullpage-9407E4D61E3DF93BA25751C0A9679D8B63.html\" title=\"\">setting a world record<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The election results could also have far-reaching implications for the country\u2019s structure. Opinion polls showing the far-right Flemish separatist party Vlaams Belang, or \u201cFlemish Interest,\u201d likely to become the country\u2019s largest, with more than twice as much support as it had in the last parliamentary election, in 2019. That would put greater Flemish autonomy, or even independence, firmly back on the political agenda.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">A longstanding vow by all other parties never to govern with Vlaams Belang makes it unlikely the anti-immigrant party will come to power at a national level. But its precipitous rise could give more moderate groups leverage to drastically change how national and regional powers are divided.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">While separatist forces in Flanders, the Dutch-speaking northern region of Belgium, dream of breaking away entirely, more realistically, after June 9 the country\u2019s north and south may start negotiating far-reaching changes that stop short of actually splitting up the country.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Still, this is an extraordinary situation in the European Union, where secessionist movements have largely been contained.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">This month, the current government gave the next one <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.belganewsagency.eu\/belgian-government-clears-way-for-major-state-reform-after-june-elections\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">carte blanche to adapt the Constitution<\/a> to make an overhaul of its federal system possible. Any changes to the Constitution after the elections would still have to be approved by a two-thirds majority in Parliament.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"css-9ycfei eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-5ae13e94\">How does Belgium vote?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Voting in Belgium is complex because of how the push for more regional autonomy has shaped the country. As a federal state, Belgium divides powers between a national or federal government and five regional or community governments. Depending on where in the country they vote, Belgians will be handed three or four different ballots on June 9.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Regional divisions also affect the way European Union votes will be cast that day. Belgium is the only country to divide its allotted seats in the European Parliament between Dutch, French and German-speaking electoral colleges, which can fill 13, eight and one seat, respectively. For the first time, 16- and 17-year-old Belgians will also be able to vote in the European elections, a landmark victory in the global movement to lower the voting age.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Showing up to vote is compulsory in Belgium. Those who fail to do so risk a fine of up to 80 euros, or $87, although it is rarely imposed. Voter turnout in the 2019 election was around 88 percent, among the highest rates in the world.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<p><h2 class=\"css-9ycfei eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-7bf3e11e\">Who is running and who is likely to win?<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\"><a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.eu\/europe-poll-of-polls\/belgium\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Polls show<\/a> Vlaams Belang winning about the most seats in the 150-seat national Parliament, to become the largest party, with the three other parties following: the far-left Workers\u2019 Party of Belgium, the Flemish nationalist New Flemish Alliance and the Walloon Socialist Party.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Belgium has long struggled to form a national government that unites regional forces, and the rise of both the far right and the far left is likely to put more moderate parties in an even tougher spot.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">As a whole, the centrist parties that make up Prime Minister Alexander De Croo\u2019s current government have lost ground and are projected to fall just short of a majority. Still, if other parties can be convinced to join in their coalition, forming a government without the far left and far right appears possible. But it will be a tall order to keep it together.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"css-9ycfei eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-1adf8ac9\">When will we find out the results?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Polls will close at 4 p.m. local time on June 9, and preliminary results will be published on a rolling basis on the country\u2019s French- and Dutch-speaking public broadcasters. A final vote count is normally announced within 24 hours of the polls closing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/05\/22\/world\/europe\/belgium-2024-election.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For a relatively small country of 11.5 million in northern Europe, Belgium punches above its weight in political relevance and drama, all of which is set to play out on June 9 when Belgians head to the polls. Brussels, the capital, is the home of the European Union institutions and NATO. The country\u2019s complex identity [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":56408,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/05\/22\/multimedia\/22belgium-election-pltk\/22belgium-election-pltk-facebookJumbo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[55436,50],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56407"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56407"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56407\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":56409,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56407\/revisions\/56409"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/56408"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56407"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56407"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56407"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}