Problems in some polling stations
Some Éverois voters were not able to vote at 8 a.m. this morning, because their offices were not yet open: “we have a problem with bags that were not delivered to the correct address“, we were told. These contain the USB sticks which are used to start the machines, as well as the instructions and passwords. Without these bags, it was not possible to open the polling station. According to Sudinfo, the problem affected all the offices in the municipalities of Evere and Schaerbeek. To resolve it, it was necessary to go around the schools to collect the bags and bring them to the offices.
A problem was also noted in Gosselies, according to Christophe, who alerted us via the orange Alert us button, but also in Liège in rue de Rivageois, according to Jennifer.
08:00
Polling stations are open
That’s it, the polling stations are opening their doors, for the municipal and provincial elections.
In Wavre, the queue is gradually starting to get longer. A good hundred voters are in front of the sports center to vote. “It’s a time saver. And then, it will allow me to do my work. I am a priest, I have to celebrate at 9 a.m., so I would like to be ready in time“, explains Alexandre.
Pedro also chose to come from the opening: “For me, it’s simply to minimize waiting time in line.“
07h00
The final preparations before the opening of the offices
In Wavre, as in all polling stations, preparations are being finalized. The assessors and all the staff requisitioned for these elections begin to arrive at the sports center. Walter Agosti, the president of the office, reassures: “Everything is ready. It’s a question of organization with a checklist. My assessors are present. We start everything we need to do and we will be ready at 8 a.m. to receive the first voters“, he explains.
All that remains is to prepare the packages, which contain the ballot papers, the ballot boxes and even the pencils, so that everything is ready for the vote.
Here, 770 voters are expected. They will be able to vote from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Then, it will take an hour to count all the ballots before the results are announced. In Brussels, where people vote electronically, polling stations are open until 4 p.m.
A special program will also begin at 4 p.m., until 11 p.m., with the announcement of the results live.
