Home > 1.3.2.2.2 Distance voting > BELGIUM - Electoral Code
 
 
 
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Article 180
 

§1. The Council of burgomasters and lay judges of the municipality where the Belgian citizen living abroad is registered sends the invitation to vote via the diplomatic post or consulate where the voter is registered and according to the modalities defined in article 107 to his residence.


§2. No later than on the 12th day before the Election Day, the head of the electoral district sends the necessary ballot papers to the Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs.


Once received, the ballot papers, accompanied by a copy of the voters’ list having chosen this voting procedure, are send to the diplomatic posts and consulates via the Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs.


The diplomatic posts or consulates organize the vote on the Wednesday before the Election Day in the Kingdom, between 1.00pm and 9.00pm local time.


§3. A polling station consists of the head, four assessors, four deputy assessors and a secretary.


The head of the diplomatic post or the person he appoints fulfills the duty of the head of the polling station in the diplomatic post or consulate.


The assessors and the deputy assessors are appointed by the head of the polling station of the diplomatic post or consulate at least 12 days before the election in the diplomatic post, among the members of the diplomatic post or consulate or among the Belgian voters registered with the diplomatic post or consulate being on the day of the elections at least 30 years old and having the ability to read and write.


The secretary is appointed by the head of the polling station in the diplomatic post or consulate among the members of the diplomatic post or consulate or among the registered voters of that diplomatic post or consulate.


The head of the polling station in the diplomatic post or consulate takes the necessary steps to ensure a public consultation of the list indicating the members of the polling station.


One copy of the voters’ list mentioned in article 146 is send to the head of the diplomatic post or consulate. S/He sorts out in the consular registry of the population the indication of the municipality where the voters concerned are registered.


§4. The King establishes a list of the diplomatic posts or consulates responsible for the tallying of the votes of the Belgian citizens living abroad having chosen to vote in person in the diplomatic posts or consulates whose votes will be tallied in this regional vote counting site.


The regional vote counting site consists of a head, eight assessors and a secretary. The regional vote counting site is headed by the head of the diplomatic post or consulate where the regional vote counting site is established.


The members of the regional vote counting site are chosen among the members of the personnel of the diplomatic posts or consulates where the votes will be recorded.


§5. The regional vote counting site proceeds to tallying the votes on the Saturday before the Election day in the Kingdom.


As soon as the polling stations in the diplomatic posts and consulates are closed, the ballot papers are transmitted by a person the head of the polling station appoints, to the regional vote counting site.


The ballot papers are kept under sealed envelopes until the tallying of the votes begins.


The ballot papers have to be send to the regional vote counting site no later than on the Friday before the election day fixed for the Kingdom.


The ballot papers that are send to the regional vote counting site after the deadline mentioned in sentence 4 are not considered for the vote and are destroyed by the head of the regional vote counting site.


§6. The regional vote counting site establishes for each of the constituencies a table indicating the results of the tallying of the votes in order and according to the indications in the model table the head of the electoral district has to draw.


The results of the tallying of the votes of the Belgian citizens living abroad are sent by electronic means by the head of the regional vote counting site to the head of the electoral district.


The head of the regional vote counting site takes all the necessary measures to ensure the head of the electoral district and the head of the Council get the results in an appropriate time limit.


The results of the tallying of the votes from the Belgian citizen living abroad and having voted in a diplomatic post or consulate are integrated into the total of votes in the electoral constituency.


§7. The provisions in article 104 are to be applied in the polling stations established in the diplomatic posts or consulates and in the regional vote counting sites mentioned in the paragraphs 3 and 4 of the present article.