Just over 15% of foreign nationals residing in Belgium have registered to vote in the upcoming municipal elections on 13 October, according to data from the

FPS Home Affairs.

As of 1 August, the day after the registration deadline, 16.7% of EU citizens living in Belgium had registered, amounting to 153,037 individuals out of 830,914 eligible voters. Additionally, 27,780 non-EU nationals, representing 11.91% of those eligible, also registered to vote.

In total, only 15.29% of eligible foreign nationals, or 162,817 out of 1,064,506, have registered to vote. Experts suggest that declining interest in politics and a lack of information on the voting process may be contributing to the low registration numbers. However, a study indicates that these votes could still have a significant impact.

Flanders shows the least interest in the elections, with only 10.4% of eligible EU nationals and 7.67% of non-EU residents registering. In contrast, Wallonia saw higher participation, with 24.6% of EU citizens and 18.62% of non-EU residents registering. In Brussels, the figures were 17.09% for EU citizens and 13.25% for other foreign nationals. In the nine German-speaking communities, registration rates were 15.53% for EU citizens and 2.62% for non-EU nationals.

Foreign nationals have been eligible to vote in local elections in Belgium since 2006, provided they meet specific conditions and complete their registration either online or at their local administrative offices. Photo by Steven Fruitsmaak/Wikinews, Wikimedia commons.