On June 9, Belgians over the age of 18 were able to cast three votes (four in the case of voters from the German-speaking community and those who voted for a Dutch-speaking party in Brussels). Minors under 16 and non-Belgian EU citizens could only vote for the European Parliament. However, on election day there were numerous reports that minors and non-Belgian EU citizens were able to vote not only for the European Parliament, but also for regional and federal parliaments, despite not having the right to do so.
It has now been confirmed that this occurred on such a scale that in some cases it may have impacted the distribution of seats.
The body that examined electronic voting notes that in many polling stations the number of votes cast does not coincide with the number of voters who came to vote. “Only in a minority of polling stations were no errors found.”
The problem is not with the voting computers, but with human error that led to voters receiving the wrong voting card and being able to cast votes that they did not have the right to cast.
At least 2,171 voters received an incorrect voting card
All electoral cantons in Brussels and the German-speaking community were checked, and in Flanders a sample of five cantons was checked. In at least 2,171 cases it was found that voters had received an incorrect electoral card. Most of the errors (1,700 or 0.3% of the total number of votes) were discovered in Brussels.
