ARE YOU A EUROPEAN CITIZEN LIVING IN BELGIUM? Come and vote for the European Parliament on 25 May 2014!

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1 ARE YOU A EUROPEAN CITIZEN LIVING IN BELGIUM? Come and vote for the European Parliament on 25 May 2014! 1

2 WHO IS ENTITLED TO VOTE ON 25 MAY 2014? In order to take part in this election as a European citizen, you must fulfil the following five conditions: 1 Have the nationality of a European Member State; 2 Own a main residence in a Belgian municipality; 3 Be at least 18 years of age; 4 Be entitled to vote; 5 Be registered on the electoral list. 1. Nationality In order to vote, you need to have the nationality of one of the 27 Member states which form the European Union with Belgium: Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden or the United Kingdom; The condition of nationality must be fulfilled by 1st March 2014 at the latest, the date when the electoral lists are drawn up. 2. Residence You must also be registered in the population register or in the Aliens register for the municipality where you live in Belgium. This condition must be fulfilled by 1 st March

3 3. Age To be able to vote you must be at least 18 years of age on the date of the election on 25 May Being entitled to vote In order to be entitled to vote, you must not have been excluded from the right to vote nor had your right to vote suspended as authorized by Belgian law. Furthermore you must not have had your right to vote revoked by your home state following an individual or an administrative decision. 5. Electoral list You need to be registered on the electoral list for the municipality where you have your main residence. In order to do so you must complete an application to be included on this list (C/1 form). You can obtain one of these at your main residence s municipal council offices or print it from the Federal elections web site ( You need to drop off the completed form at the Council House or you can send it by post, fax or by 28 February 2014 at the latest. The municipal council will examine your request on the basis of the information you gave on this form. If you are approved by the municipal executives you will receive an official notification from the municipality. Voting is compulsory in Belgium. As soon as your registration on the electoral list has been approved you will be held legally responsible for going to the polls on 25 May From then on you will no longer be able to take part in the European Parliament elections in your home state. If you have already made an application for registration on the electoral list for European elections in the past (for the European elections of 7th June 2009 for example) and you were approved as a voter at the time, there is no need to make a new request. Your registration on the electoral list is maintained. You can check this registration with your municipal council or on ( Other tab Elections ) using an electronic residency permit. 3

4 The municipal executives may decide not to approve your request for registration as a voter and consequently not include you on the electoral list. You will be officially notified of this decision in writing. An appeal may be lodged against this decision. You can obtain information about the appeal proceedings from your municipal council or from our site ( Voter tab General information ). HOW TO ISSUE A VALID VOTE Your vote must appear on only one list in order to be valid. You can vote in 2 different ways: By voting in the box at the top of a list (list vote) By voting in the box located next to the name of one or several candidates (preference vote) If you issue a list vote as well as one or several preference votes within this list, the list vote will be ignored. If you issue votes (whether list or preference) on different lists, your vote will be considered void and will not be recognized. 4

5 ELECTRONIC VOTING On 25 May 2014, 39 municipalities in the Walloon Region and 17 municipalities in the Brussels-Capital Region will be voting electronically. On 25 May 2014, 151 municipalities in the Flemish Region as well as the municipalities of Saint-Gilles and Woluwe-Saint-Pierre in the Brussels- Capital Region will be voting electronically with paper proof (voter verified paper audit trail [VVPAT]). If you would like to know if electronic voting is used in your municipality, you can contact your municipal council s Elections service. HOW DO YOU USE E-VOTING? 1. Insert your magnetic card into the card reader. The screen will indicate which elections you can vote for. - Place the light pen at right angles to the screen pointing at the box you have chosen. 2. First of all choose the list you would like to vote for. Once you have made your choice, you must confirm it. The selected boxes take on a grey colour. HOW DO YOU VOTE BY COMPUTER? 1. Insert your smart card in the card reader at the right, below the voting computer. The screen will indicate which elections you can vote for. - To make a selection, simply press the touch screen in the box you have selected. 2. First of all choose the list you would like to vote for. Once you have made your choice, you must confirm it. The selected boxes take on a grey colour. WARNING a. In the municipalities of the Brussels-Capital region and in a language arrangement municipality, first of all you must choose the language for the electoral proceedings. This choice does not influence the vote itself in any way. b. In a municipality in the Brussels-Capital region, before selecting a list you must also choose between the French electoral college or the Dutch electoral college. WARNING a. In the municipalities of the Brussels-Capital region and in a language arrangement municipality, first of all you must choose the language for the electoral proceedings. This choice does not influence the vote itself in any way. b. In a municipality in the Brussels-Capital region and in a municipality in the canton of Rhode-Saint-Genèse, before selecting a list you must also choose between the French 5

6 3. If you make a mistake it isn t a problem. Either cancel your vote and start again, or point again with the light pen at the chosen box which then goes white again. - When you have made your choice, confirm it After confirmation, your magnetic card is ejected. If you want you can check your vote visually by inserting your card in the reader again. However you cannot make any changes to your vote. Then show your card to the returning officer and drop it into the electronic ballot box. Look at the example below. Insert your magnetic card into the voting machine card reader. electoral college or the Dutch electoral college. 3. If you make a mistake it isn t a problem. Either cancel your vote and start again, or press the chosen box again and it will then go back to white - When you have made your choice, confirm it After the final confirmation, the computer prints a ballot paper. You can see your choice on this ballot paper. This ballot paper also provides the same information in the form of a barcode. - Take this ballot paper and fold it into two equal halves with the printed part facing inwards. Take the smart card out of the computer before leaving the cubicle. - Then go to the ballot box. Scan in the barcode on your ballot paper by placing it flat against the screen. After this scanning operation, the ballot box issues a sound signal. Then you can fold up your ballot paper again and insert it in the electronic ballot box. Look at the example below. Insert your smart card into the computer s card reader (on the right). Make sure you place the light pen at right angles to the screen and press on the box of your choice, in order to select a list first and then one or several candidates from the list you have selected. (A list vote is also possible) Press on the touch screen in the box of your choice, in order to select a list first and then one or several candidates from the list you have selected. (A list vote is also possible) 6

7 Confirm your choice by clicking on the box at the bottom right of the screen. (If necessary you can cancel your choice by clicking on the box at the bottom left of the screen. Confirm your choice by clicking on the box at the bottom right of the screen. (If necessary you can cancel your choice by clicking on the box at the bottom left of the screen. After the last confirmation, the magnetic card is ejected from the machine and you give it to the returning officer for verification, before dropping it in the ballot box. To do a simulation of electronic voting, you can visit our website one month before the elections. 7

8 After the final confirmation, the computer prints a ballot paper. 8

9 Then scan this using the electronic ballot box. After this scanning operation, drop the folded ballot paper into the ballot box. 9

10 To do a simulation of electronic voting, you can visit our website one month before the elections. 10

11 HOW TO APPLY TO BE A CANDIDATE? In order to be qualified to be elected at the European Parliament in Belgium, you must: Be a citizen of a Member State of the European Union and also be domiciled in one of the Member States; Be shown as a candidate on a Belgian list, accepted by a main Belgian electoral office, after depositing it at this office on 28 or 29 March 2014; Hand in to the main electoral office a written, signed declaration indicating the address of your main residence, your nationality, your date and place of birth. This statement also indicates that you are not a candidate in another Member state and your eligibility in this State has not been revoked or suspended on the date of the election (25 May 2014); You have reached the age of 21 on the 25 May 2014; Possess civil and political rights on 25 May 2014; The sample form for submitting your application can be found on the Elections web site ( 11

12 (last page of the brochure) 25 MAY 2014 EUROPEAN ELECTIONS On Sunday 25 May 2014, 751 members of the European Parliament will be elected in the 28 Member States of the European Union. If you are a European citizen resident in Belgium, you can take part in elections for the European Parliament in Belgium and vote for candidates on Belgian lists. The request for registration on the list of voters in your municipality must be made by 28 February 2014 at the latest. For information, Belgian voters will also elect their representatives in the Chamber of Representatives and the Parliaments of the Municipality and the Region on 25 May INFORMATION FORM Don t hesitate to contact the Elections service in your municipal office. You can also consult the Elections website of the Domestic Federal Public Service, or contact our Callcenter: 02/ callcenter.rrn@rrn.fgov.be. Service public fédéral Intérieur (Domestic Federal Public Service) Direction générale Institutions et Population (General Institutions and Population Department) Service Elections (Elections Service) Park Atrium Rue des Colonies, BRUSSELS-CAPITAL Chief editor I. MAZZARA, General Director, Domestic Federal Public Service Park Atrium - rue des Colonies, 11 in 1000 BRUSSELS-CAPITAL 12