Belgian
The measure, adopted by the previous Flemish government, was part of the coalition agreement negotiated in 2019 between the N-VA, Open VLD and CD&V. “A question of principle, of freedom, aimed at strengthening democracy”, according to Bart Somers, then Flemish Minister of Internal Affairs. Bart De Wever saw the end of compulsory municipal voting as a way of reinforcing one of his political mantras: Belgium is made up of not one but two democracies. One in the Wallonia-Brussels Federation where everyone must participate in the vote, the other in Flanders where everyone will have the freedom to go or not. In the north of the country we obviously expect a drop in participation. In what proportions? We are talking about between 12 and 29% potential abstention. A latest poll indicates 24%. This decline supports one of the expected reasons for a citizen’s motivation to vote: the obligation to do so. There are others. To be convinced of this, you only need to look at a map of Wallonia…
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