European Parliament election, 2009 (Belgium)
Belgium European Parliament election, 2009
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2004 ←
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7 June 2009
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→ 2014
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| 22 seats to the European Parliament |
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The European Parliament election of 2009 in Belgium was on Sunday 7 June 2009 and was the election of the delegation from Belgium to the European Parliament. The elections were on the same day as regional elections to the Flemish Parliament, Walloon Parliament, Brussels Parliament and the German-speaking Community of Belgium.[1]
As a result of the Treaty of Nice - that became active in November 2004 - the number of Belgian delegates in the European Parliament decreased from 24 (in 2004) to 22 delegates: 13 delegates were elected by the Dutch-speaking Electoral College, 8 delegates by the Francophone Electoral College and 1 by the German-speaking Electoral College.
Results
Source: European Parliament Elections 2009 in Belgium
Turnout across Belgium was 7,014,415, representing 90.39% of the electorate. A total of 6,571,802 valid votes were cast.
| Party |
Affiliation |
Votes |
% |
Change |
Seats |
Change |
| |
Christian Democratic and Flemish |
EPP |
948,123 |
23.26 |
−4.89 |
3 |
0 |
| |
Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats |
ELDR |
837,884 |
20.56 |
−1.35 |
3 |
0 |
| |
Flemish Interest |
None |
647,170 |
15.88 |
−7.28 |
2 |
−1 |
| |
Socialist Party Different |
PES |
539,393 |
13.23 |
−4.60 |
2 |
−1 |
| |
New-Flemish Alliance |
EPP-ED group (previous term) |
402,545 |
9.88 |
+9.88 |
1 |
0 |
| |
Green! |
EGP |
322,149 |
7.90 |
−0.08 |
1 |
0 |
| |
List Dedecker |
ECR |
296,699 |
7.28 |
+7.28 |
1 |
+1 |
| |
Workers Party of Belgium+ |
None |
40,057 |
0.98 |
+0.37 |
0 |
0 |
| |
Social Liberal Party |
EFA |
26,541 |
0.65 |
+0.65 |
0 |
0 |
| |
Left Socialist Party |
None |
8,985 |
0.22 |
-0.13 |
0 |
0 |
| |
Committee for Another Policy |
None |
6,398 |
0.16 |
- |
0 |
0 |
| Total |
4,075,944 |
100 |
— |
13 |
−1 |
Linguistic controversy
Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde constituency
Generally in Belgium, residents of Flanders can only vote for a party list that runs in Flanders, and in Wallonia residents may only pick a Walloon list. In practice this means residents will only be able to vote for a party representing the official language group of the region. (French-speakers in Flanders have, however, joined up in the cross-party Union des Francophones with one seat in the Flemish Parliament).
In the capital Brussels, which is officially bilingual but mainly inhabited by French-speakers, people can choose either a French- or a Dutch-speaking party list. However, the area surrounding Brussels is part of Dutch-speaking Flanders, but is joined with the Brussels constituency in elections for the European Parliament and the Belgian Parliament. This bilingual constituency, Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde, has been declared unconstitional and has been a source of controversy for years. Flemings fear the bilingual constituency leads to increased francisation of the Dutch-speaking area surrounding Brussels, while French-speakers claim it is their basic right to vote for a French-speaking party. Some Dutch-speaking municipalities decided to boycot the EU Parliament election for reason of the unconstitutionality,[2] but elections were carried out anyway.
As in previous elections, Francophone parties campaigned outside of the Francophone area, leading to measures from Flemish authorities. Affligem and Halle are located in Dutch-speaking Flanders (although a substantial minority of Francophones also live there) but belong to the Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde constituency. Politicians in Affligem and Halle have objected to French-speaking campaigners in Flanders, and billboard space has been denied by the municipal authorities. In Affligem, French-language posters that had already been put up were covered with white paper. The Francophone party Humanist Democratic Centre has condemned it as an attack on "the fundamental rights of French speakers on the periphery [of Brussels]".[2][3]
The municipalities of Merchtem, Beersel, Kapelle-op-den-Bos, Machelen, Ternat, Meise, and Grimbergen also said that they would not provide billboard space, in the hope of avoiding French-language posters. In Steenokkerzeel, Ternat, and Grimbergen stickers were distributed, to be placed on mailboxes, requesting that only Dutch flyers are accepted.[3]
References
External links