Election Day in Belgium

I accompanied my friends to the polling station on Election Day, where elections were being contested at the regional, national and European levels. Voting is compulsory in Belgium; failure to present yourself at the polls elicits a modest fine. Voting is considered one of the obligations of a citizen living in a democratic society. Of course, the government cannot make you cast a vote. A person could simply leave the ballot blank, or even spoil it. In such case, the voter will have fulfilled his or her civic duty. 

Over breakfast before going to the polls, L expressed his frustration at what he saw was increasing belief that the relationship between the people and the government was one of all rights, without obligations on the part of citizens. Thus, very few people were interested in performing the duties, services and niceties that make a democratic society work. But people demanded more rights without consideration of its effects upon others. He worried that this trend toward, what I would call individualism or narcissism was eroding the democratic nature of Belgium.

The Language Border in Belgium

Meanwhile, G was concerned about the future of her village, one where she grew up and lived most of her life. She opined that the village was not the same place as when she grew up. The influx of Francophones had substantially changed the village. In Belgium, Flanders is Flemish-speaking, Wallonia French-speaking, and the city of Brussels is officially bilingual, however historically dominated by Francophones. Brussels is completely encircled by Flanders, with a thin strip of land that separates the city from Wallonia. L and G’s house, located in Flanders, just south of Brussels. is situated less than a quarter of a mile from the language frontier, the official divide between Flemish and French speakers. Francophone Belgian citizens who have moved to the Flemish villages that encircle the capital, have established their own organizations and social networks, demanding more services be provided to the citizens in French. G worries that this is diminishing the Flemish language. Because the new people have a limited knowledge of Dutch, it did not allow anyone to know and use the complexity and beauty of the language. 

Political Protest in Flanders

As we arrived at the Catholic school a that served as the polling station, friends and neighbors greeted one another with handshakes and cheek-to-cheek air kisses. Because everyone is compelled to appear at the polls, on a Sunday between 8am and 2pm, there is a good chance that people will see several people they will know. Whether people like it or not, compulsory voting is an opportunity to visit and connect to the community. Walking to the poll, L points out a restaurant and caterer in center of the village, one that has its services listed in Flemish and French. Someone has used black paint in an attempt to mask the French words.  Although the language issue is often discussed, it is one of the few instances of political protest I have seen in the years I have been coming to Belgium and Flanders.

Given the number of political parties, the ballot is large. Sample ballots line the walls. A bulletin board that separates the line from the voting area. On it is posted the relevant statutes regarding election. Hanging from a long piece of twine is a 300-page booklet, in both French and Dutch, enumerating the rules and procedures of elections used, presumably, in case of a dispute. Despite the hundreds of people queuing to vote, I am the only person who casually wonder over to thumb through it. 

After voting, L and G had another task: G’s brother and wife were on holiday in Greece. In what is a complete anathema to Americans, they would L and G would go to vote in their place. We walked over to another of the village’s polling place, this time in a primary school where G once taught, my friends produced a letter from the mayor and an affidavit signed by the principles and cast ballots on their relative’s behalf. At once it seemed opened to malfeasance and fraud, but in light of the mandate of compulsory voting, it makes complete sense.

The entire process was one in which the act of voting was not merely a right that once could exercise, it was a duty that citizens were expected to perform. From my perspective it promoted a sense of community. Each and every person, often with children in tow, were expected to present themselves to express their ideas and opinion on government. No one is left out; no one excluded. A chance for the people to make their voices heard.