Belgian polls reveal regional disparities in voting behaviour in the lead-up to elections

8 months ago 29

Belgian opinion polls show vast differences in voting behaviour between the country’s regions, with Wallonians being the least likely to go to the polls while the far right is gaining ground in Flanders.

In June, Belgians are set to vote in the European Parliament elections and in the federal, regional and community parliaments. Voting is compulsory in Belgium and people as young as 16 are able to vote in EU elections since 21 March. Despite this, almost a third of the respondents said they would not vote, according to the Grand Baromètre, conducted by the Ipsos polling institute, between 11 and 18 March, among Belgian citizens aged 18 and over.

Regionally, the Walloons are the most likely to abstain from voting if it were not compulsory, with 42%, followed by the inhabitants of the Belgian capital with 29%, just ahead of the Flemish with 24%.

A third of Belgians say they do not know who to vote for in June, as reported by RTL – significant figures given the country’s deep-rooted electoral culture.

While the study suggests that Belgians are not very enthusiastic about voting, it also points to a widening gap in voting intentions between regions.

In Wallonia, 21% would vote for the Socialist Party (PS/S&D), while in the Flemish region, the far-right party Vlaams Belang (ID) would win with 27.4% of the vote, closely followed by the N-VA of the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) with 20,4%.

In Wallonia, the PS won the last regional elections with 26.2% in 2019, indicating a potential loss in favour of Les Engagés (EPP).

On the Flemish side, however, the national gap is widening considerably: the right-wing nationalist party NVA, which won the 2019 regional elections with 24.8% and the federal elections with 16%, is being overtaken by the country’s most right-wing party, Vlaams Belang, which has been gaining momentum for years but has yet to overtake its rival.

It is the victory of parties on different (extreme) sides of the political spectrum that makes forming a government complex.

Meanwhile, Le Soir reported that the same poll showed that Prime Minister Alexander De Croo (Open VLD, Renew) was among the top three most popular Belgian politicians in all three regions.

(Claire Lemaire | Euractiv.com)