Proposition 50K1378

Projet de loi modifiant le Code électoral en vue d'octroyer le droit de vote aux Belges résidant à l'étranger pour l'élection des Chambres législatives fédérales et instaurant la liberté de choix du mandataire en cas de vote par procuration.

General information ¶

Submitted by

Groen Open Vld Vooruit PS | SP Ecolo MR Verhofstadt Ⅰ

Submission date

July 27, 2001

Official page

Visit

Status

Adopted

Requirement

Simple

Subjects

organisation of elections election

Voting ¶

Voted to adopt

Groen Ecolo LE PS | SP Open Vld MR FN VB

Abstained from voting

CD&V N-VA

Party dissidents ¶

• Alfons Borginon (Open Vld) abstained from voting.
• Karel Pinxten (Open Vld) abstained from voting.

Contact form ¶

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Discussion ¶

Nov. 28, 2001 | Plenary session (Chamber of representatives)

Full source

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Speaker.

First, Belgians abroad should be able to vote in the federal elections more easily and cheaper.

Second, the voting by authority is adjusted.

What was the problem? In the previous elections, only 18 Belgians who stayed abroad voted out of the estimated 180,000 potential voters. The too expensive and too complex procedure was cited as a reason for this. The government has recognized this problem and included it in the government statement. This design provides a solution.

How does the system work? Belgian immigrants must register as voters if they meet the voting conditions in the consular registers. The choice of the municipality at the time of registration is entirely free. Belgians abroad can vote in five different ways. First, one can give a personal vote in a Belgian municipality. The second option is the vote by full power in a Belgian municipality. Third, one can personally vote in the diplomatic or consular post. Fourth, a voting by full authority in that diplomatic or consular post is also possible. The fifth option is voting by letter exchange. The way that all this should be done is clearly outlined in the proposal.

The second element of this bill concerns the voting by full power. The draft removes the limitation of the authorized representative to spouse, spouse or blood and relatives up to the third degree. The voter may freely choose his authorized representative, either among the voters registered in the municipality where he himself will choose, or — for the Belgians abroad — among the Belgians abroad registered in the same post.

The various political groups of the Committee on Internal Affairs have taken a decision on this draft.

The PRL faction was very pleased because this design solves the previously outlined difficulties in terms of cost and complexity. The PRL faction also welcomes the various options that Belgians abroad are now being offered.

The CD&V Group refers to a comment made by the State Council in connection with the optional enrollment in a diplomatic or consular post. It is noted that this constitutes discrimination. The CD&V group also notes that Belgians abroad have five different options to vote, while other Belgians cannot. It is believed that another discrimination is included in the law. After all, Belgians abroad have a greater choice when casting their vote than the Belgians in the territory.

It also points out a possible problem arising in connection with the secret character of the vote when voting is to be carried out by letter exchange. The CD&V group also points out the possibility of fraud in the scraping of powers.

The Flemish Blok faction actually wants a broader discussion on the choice between the right to vote and the right to vote.

The PS group rejects several objections that have been raised and expresses the desire to extend the right to vote to foreigners who have long resided here.

The VLD group also raises some questions regarding the practical application of this draft, in particular the aspect of secret voting when the vote is issued by letter. How are votes from abroad processed when electronic voting is applied? The group is in favour of a relaxation of voting by authority.

We have fully supported this proposal in the committee. It is a design that enables all Belgians, wherever they live, not only in theory but also really in practice, to voice in an easy way. This is a democratic right that we must uphold.

Let us bear in mind that this effort we are doing now applies to Belgians living abroad. The persons concerned are often born abroad, they are married, they have built up their own lives there, they often have no very concrete ties with Belgium. We respond very strongly to their specific situation by the different ways of voting and by the easing of the procedure. This, however, is in sharp contrast to a large group of migrants residing on our territory, of whatever nationality they may be, who often have been part of our society for decades, sometimes for a lifetime, but for now in no way can give their voice.

The democratic right to choose who represents in Parliament has now been improved for Belgians abroad, but the democratic right to vote for who represents it would like to be fulfilled for local elections.

As you know, our group, along with other, years of demanding party to grant voting rights to people who have legally resided in the territory for years. With this presentation, I would like to express our support for the discussions on this subject currently taking place in the Senate. We hope that we will be able to finish with an equally positive outcome.

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Minister, colleagues, this draft law amending the law concerning the right to vote of Belgians abroad is an important draft because it relates to an essential feature of democracy, namely the right to participate in free and secret elections of those who make decisions on behalf and for the people and with these decisions shape the institution and organization of society.

There has been a long way to go before the right to vote became universal and single. The principle of one man or one woman is one voice, has not come without a blow or a blow. It is expensive to fight.

Since this design aims to make the right to vote even more general than it is, this design is very important.

This draft aims to make it easier for Belgians residing abroad to participate in federal parliamentary elections. On 13 June 1999, Belgians living abroad were allowed to participate in the House and Senate elections for the first time. The previous government had taken a legislative initiative in this regard which led to the law of 18 December 1998. On 13 June 1999, it was found that only 18 Belgians abroad were taking advantage of this possibility. That was ⁇ low compared to the Belgians living abroad. As a parenthesis, I would like to remove the fact that the figures on the Belgians who reside abroad vary greatly. According to Minister Duquesne, there are 350,000. His predecessor spoke of 559,000. The low participation on 13 June 1999 may be due to the fact that many Belgians abroad were not aware of the possibility of participating in the parliamentary elections. The low participation can also be explained by the fact that for a not insignificant part of these Belgians, especially those who have been away from Belgium for a long time, the bond with our country is no longer so strong. According to others, the low participation had to do with the heavy administrative procedure that had to be followed.

This proposal aims to ease this procedure. With this design, Belgians abroad have no less than 5 different options to vote. Moreover, they get so many opportunities that the Belgians who vote in our country could sometimes be envious. They don’t have five but only two options. They can go to the polling station themselves or vote by full authority. Belgians abroad will not only be able to use these two voting options but will also be able to vote personally or by mandate at the diplomatic or consular office in which they are registered, or by letter.

In its Memory of Explanation, the government motivates this easing with the argument, I quote, “that a large percentage of the Belgians residing abroad want to participate in the parliamentary elections in our country.” Since the CD&V group did not find any further information on this subject in the Explanatory Memory, I asked the Minister during the discussion in the committee whether there were concrete indications or figures on this subject. The Minister had to remain guilty of the answer. There is no study or research that gives any indication about this. In short, the argument in the Memory of Explanation is to be submitted in the section "wet-fingerwork". I cannot accept that the explanation of bills contains claims that are not supported or based on assumptions and not on facts. In the absence of concrete data, the minister sought a way out with another argument. "Settle," he said, "that only a few of the Belgians residing abroad are interested in participating in the parliamentary elections than it is responsible to facilitate their right to vote because the right to vote is so important in a democracy." Anyone who dares to challenge this argument risks being accused of not being a real or good Democrat. With our criticism of this draft we were pushed by the minister and some members of the majority in the committee almost to the corner.

Voting is the foundation of democracy. It is important that as many Belgians as possible can exercise this right. However, it is also important that this right is exercised in an equal manner and by all Belgians under the same conditions. This is not the case with the current bill. Their

The Constitution stipulates that all Belgians aged 18 years and older have the right to vote.

The Constitution stipulates that all Belgians from the age of 18 have the right to vote but are also obliged to participate in the elections. On the need to maintain the voting obligation, which in fact is an appearance obligation, an interesting discussion can be conducted which, however, is not discussed at this time.

However, we can now ask whether the voting obligation applies to Belgians abroad in the same way as to Belgians residing in the country. The answer to that question is: no. In the memorandum of explanation of the draft, it is stated on page 6: "Once all Belgians abroad, who are registered in a Belgian diplomatic or consular office, meet the conditions for voting, they will be subject to the voting obligation". This addresses the criticism of the pre-design. That criticism was that Belgians abroad have a choice and the Belgians who reside in the country do not. The latter are subject to the voting obligation because they are officially registered in the electoral register. The Belgians abroad can be registered or not. Only from their registration are they subject to the voting duty.

There is also another difference. Belgians abroad who are registered in the consular population register are not subject to the obligation of appearance. In fact, the draft stipulates in the explanatory memorandum on page 6: "On the basis of the population registers that each diplomatic or consular post will keep, it sends to the Belgians who are registered in its official territory, a form for the application for registration as a voter." He has the choice to participate or not in the elections. The Belgian who resides in his own country does not have that choice: he is obliged to go vote. The next thing I noticed. The socialist parties, including in the Committee on Political Renewal, who say they attach great importance to the preservation of the compulsory appearance, did not pay any attention to this important aspect of the draft during the discussion in the committee. Nevertheless, I assume they will support our amendment. That amendment stipulates that Belgians who are registered abroad in the consular population registers are automatically also registered as voters, of course, provided that they meet the conditions for eligibility. The optional entry on the voter list entered in the draft is canceled by our amendment and is converted into a mandatory entry on the voter list. It is only in this way that Belgians abroad exercise their voting rights in the same way as the Belgians who reside here.

To our comment on this in the committee, the Minister responded with a reference to the opinion of the Council of State on the draft of the previous government. That draft allowed the right to vote for Belgians abroad. The State Council then advised “that the mandatory administrative registration for the Belgians residing abroad would be practically impossible and, in addition, incompatible with Article 22 of the Constitution and Article 8 of the European Declaration of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms”. The reference to the State Council opinion is quite strange. The Minister has in fact not subjected his own draft to the opinion of the State Council. Indeed, on the Minister’s preliminary draft, the State Council has limited itself to the main criticism that the preliminary draft is unconstitutional. In fact, after his adjustments to the draft law, the Minister had to submit that draft law again to the State Council for advice. He did not do that. Thus he confirmed the trend breaking of this government, namely its low respect for the opinions of the State Council.

For a minister who, when discussing draft laws and proposals, likes to refer to the principles of the rule of law and the principles of parliamentary democracy, this is a disturbing attitude. But this on the side.

More importantly, the Minister’s response and the reference to the State Council’s opinion are not relevant. Indeed, the Minister himself stated in the explanation that this draft is inseparably linked to another draft, namely the draft of his colleague of Foreign Affairs in relation to the consular population registers and identity cards. This latter draft creates a legal framework to enable consular posts abroad to issue an identity card to Belgians living abroad and also introduces consular population registers. The registration in the consular population registers is not mandatory, but those who allow themselves to be registered and know that the consular protection by the Belgian State is important, can be expected to submit to the voting obligation.

Colleagues, if it is also true that so many Belgians abroad find it important to be able to participate in the parliamentary elections, then they can still have no problem with the fact that the voting obligation applies to them. In other words, I cannot imagine that you would not support this amendment. After all, you have declared yourself in the committee: "The struggle for voting duty has been too hard to give it up."

The main reason for accepting this amendment is, of course, that the right to vote is a crucial element in a democracy and that it must be carefully watched that this right to vote is exercised for all Belgians under the same conditions. There can be no voting right for certain Belgians and a different type of voting right for another group of Belgians.

The principle of good administration is also at issue in the dispute concerning the time limits applicable to certain methods of voting under this draft. The deadlines are sometimes so short that there is a risk that votes cast will not be counted. In fact, there is a limit for the acceptance of ballots from diplomatic or consular offices. This means that voting tickets that are not delivered on time will not be charged. There are, of course, good arguments for this, but it is strange: Belgians vote, but they are not sure that their vote is also counted. The Minister will therefore have to make the necessary arrangements to enforce the law properly. In addition, the question also arises how Belgians abroad will be informed about the new opportunities.

It is also interesting that this draft is intended, on the one hand, to ease the conditions under which Belgians abroad can participate in the elections to the Federal Parliament and, on the other hand, to deprive a group of Belgians of the right to vote. In fact, Article 6 of the draft repeals the provisions of the law of 18 December which introduced this right of vote. In other words, this draft gives voting rights only to the Belgians who are registered in the consular population registers. Others no longer have the possibility to exercise the right to vote. In this regard, the design is an undeniable decline.

Mr. Minister, in the committee you, together with some French-speaking commissioners, have reacted with surprise and almost indignation to our view that this draft has a community dimension.

However, I would like to point out that we are not alone with this opinion. Your predecessor was also of the opinion that the draft has a community dimension. In this regard, I refer to the reports of the Senate Committee on Home Affairs, which during the previous legislature discussed bills intending to introduce the right to vote for Belgians abroad.

The right to vote for Belgians abroad is a French language requirement. With the strict regulation of the law of 18 December 1998, the French-speaking parties were not satisfied. Hence this draft, which is another concession of Verhofstadt to the French speakers, under the pretext that the right to vote must be exercised by all voting Belgians. This is a principle that no Democrat can challenge. This right of vote is especially applied to French-speaking voters. This is of course interesting for the Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde electoral district, because there French-speaking and Flemish lists compete with each other.

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Minister, dear colleagues, we cannot support the draft for the aforementioned reasons unless the government is willing to accept our amendments.

Mr. Speaker, the PRL-FDF-MCC group welcomes the bill that is submitted to us today by the government. The question of the right to vote of Belgians from abroad is indeed a long-standing claim of my political formation.

Thanks to the proposed text, our expatriates, who are several hundred thousand, will now be able to participate in the legislative elections of their home country without having to worry, as was the case in the elections of 1999, of a multitude of administrative steps that are discouraging, costly and unworthy of a modern democracy such as ours.

Disappointing, the word is almost weak. To be honest, this is a real journey of the fighter imagined by the previous government.

I briefly recall that our compatriots were to constitute a file comprising — and the list is not exhaustive — a birth certificate, a certificate of nationality, a certificate of non-right to vote in the foreign country, a certificate of good life and morals, a copy of the card of resident abroad, a certificate of life, an act of notoriety, a certificate of nationality of the mandatory and, for men, a certificate of militia. It should be noted that the position of this representative was little more enviable since he had to first prove his relationship with the expatriate voter before the Justice of Peace or before a notary and then, on the day of the election, appear at the voting office with his own call, his identity card, an excerpt of procurement and a certificate attesting that the mandant was still alive.

The results of this absurd mechanics were predictable. They are finally 18 courageous Belgians whose tenacity should be praised, who were able to take part in the 1999 parliamentary elections.

These administrative hassles were not only discouraging, they were also ⁇ expensive. The costs varied depending on the circumstances of the case, but it can reasonably be argued that the average budget to be paid for the exercise of the right to vote from abroad was more or less than 7,000 francs. It is unnecessary, for some commentators of the time, to support more to dare to shout at the return of the census vote. by

As I told you, I also think that the previous system was unworthy of a modern democracy like ours. For comparison, I find that there have long been simple and perfectly effective solutions abroad. The French system, in particular, allows voting at the consulate. In Germany, the consulate sends voting bulletins to expatriates. If they want to vote, they will be sent back to their country of origin. Dutch and Swiss citizens must register at the Consulate with a copy of their passport.

The previous government did not find it appropriate to take inspiration from these quite enlightening examples. He feared — but apparently he was the only one in Europe — that some parties, I quote the Interior Minister of the time, would collect packages of procurement in homes or hospitals. These are obviously false pretexts that crush the basic democratic principles.

I must regret that some speakers in the committee — in particular the statements I have just heard on the tribune from my colleague Vanpoucke — have denied this evidence by arguing that, in any case, the vote of the Belgians from abroad concerned only a limited number of people. I am falsely opposed to this analysis and, above all, I believe, as Minister Duquesne strongly recalled, that the number of voters involved does not play any role. No one may deprive a voter of his right to vote. by

From the above, everyone will deduce that the problem of the voting right of Belgians residing abroad deserved a solution. The government’s proposal must ⁇ receive our consent, and this, in my opinion, for three reasons.

First of all, because the proposed text is truly innovative. The party was taken to offer expatriates the greatest latitude and therefore also the greatest facility. The draft enables the vote to be expressed in five different ways, free to the voter to choose the modality that will suit him best. He may vote in person or by procuration, in the diplomatic post of his adoptive country or, if he wishes, express his suffrage by correspondence. by

The arrangements already in force remain applicable, namely the voting in person in Belgium and the voting by procuration. These terms have been fundamentally revised, and this is of course the second advantage of the amendments proposed by Minister Duquesne. The case of procurement voting is symptomatic in this regard. The representative can now be chosen among the voters of any municipality in Belgium and not only among the close relatives of the mandant. It should be noted that this novelty also applies to Belgian voters residing in Belgium. This point goes somewhat unnoticed, but I believe this is a reform ⁇ welcome for all isolated and/or disabled persons. I add that this aspect of the reform allows to guarantee the principle of equality between Belgians residing abroad and those residing in Belgium, and to comply with the case-law of the Arbitration Court on this issue.

Finally, the project satisfies us also by the fact that it establishes the free of charge of the administrative procedure prior to the exercise of the right to vote. This principle cannot suffer from any temperament as much as the credibility of our democracy, the guarantee of giving everyone the opportunity to express their political choices without any constraints. by

As a result, the PRL-FDF-MCC group will support this magnificent project with conviction and determination. I would like to thank Minister Duquesne and his team for this fabulous work, so much awaited.

There are two types of Belgians: those who have the right to vote and those who have the right to vote. Those who live abroad can register and then have voting duty. However, they are free to register on the electoral list or not. Therefore, in practice they have voting rights. We, the Belgians who have been domesticated in Belgium themselves, are still on the voting duty.

This is, by the way, a problem that is also highlighted in the discussion about the right to vote for foreigners. We also talk about the right to vote. I wonder if the same system will be applied to the voting right for foreigners. Will the immigrants not yet naturalized in Borgerhout or in the Gentse Muide also have the possibility to register on the electoral list or not? When they are registered, they have the right to vote, but as long as they are not registered, they are free, and in practice they have the right to vote. In the committee, I asked the Minister to also address this fundamental issue in the discussion. Apparently this could not be done, and I continue to regret that.

I also found that there was enough time to conduct a broader discussion on electronic voting and on the control mechanisms on electronic voting. Now the right to vote for Belgians abroad as a small part of the electoral system has been removed and regulated. So far no problem, but the right of the citizen to control the electoral processes, which is essential to democracy, has not been discussed. However, it lives very strongly among the population. Every politician who comes into contact with his backbone gets comments in areas where electronic voting is used: "What about those computers? Is that reliable?”

Is that reliable? We must always answer that we do not know it, because we cannot control it. Therefore, we continue to regret that the discussion has not extended to this area either. Here, Mr. Speaker, is my very brief explanation.

Colleagues, for all clarity, Mr. Tastenhoye had ⁇ informed himself in advance, but I had forgotten that for a moment, for which I apologize.

First of all, I would like to thank the many parliamentarians who spoke on behalf of their group in favour of this project. This makes me think that it will be adopted in a few hours and that it will be a victory for more democracy over our fellow citizens living abroad. by

by Mr. Vanpoucke wants more democracy, but will scratch his drawer funds to find special arguments in order to prevent the implementation of a mechanism that takes into account the situation of people living abroad, that things are simplified, that they are made less expensive. The experience of the very complicated and very expensive project, voted under the previous government, led only 18 Belgians from abroad to participate in the vote. by

In fact, I have not done a study on the intentions of these Belgians to vote abroad. I was fortunate, Mr. Vanpoucke, to travel. I was struck to see how much the Belgians residing abroad, who often represent us with many qualities, who embody our vitrine outside, express their deep attachment to their country. They continue to keep up with the news, they are worried when we experience difficulties, or they rejoice when we succeed. Many will seize this opportunity to demonstrate the close and political bond they maintain with our country. by

I have contacts with the Association of Belgians Abroad (which is an old claim), which has structured and organized relations with these Belgians abroad and which, I think, expresses their opinion very correctly. by

I look forward to these Belgians, whether they are French-speaking, Dutch-speaking or German-speaking, who will have the opportunity to vote. As Ms. De Permentier said, in terms of democracy, one voice is important.

Evaluations and extrapolations were made in relation to the number of Belgians abroad and based on the reactions known in Belgium. And indeed, a cautious assessment highlights the fact that ⁇ two hundred thousand Belgians from abroad could participate in the votes, which is not negligible.

They will be able to do so because it will cost them nothing and because the procedures are simple. We have tried as much as possible to remain faithful to the existing legislation by respecting the deadlines of the electoral code and the guarantees that are those of the electoral legislation.

We have taken particular situations into account. Sometimes these Belgians from abroad are not only very far from home but even very far from the diplomatic post through which they could be in contact. That is why we have not envisaged discrimination but differences in legislation that take into account a situation that is objectively different on the ground. There is the possibility of voting by correspondence.

Our desire is to avoid any discrimination between those who are abroad and those who are in Belgium. Since then we have taken into account the observation of the State Council by generalizing the possibility of giving proxy to the person of his choice. We referred to the State Council opinion but, Mr. Vanpoucke, I also referred to that of 1998. This is legitimate since it is the opinion given on the basis of the project that was introduced by the previous government and I suppose that you voted for it at the time. You didn’t have the same emotions as you have today. I refer to it because the project I have the honor of presenting to the rooms clearly shows that we wanted to take these observations into account.

Indeed, in its opinion of 2 September 1998, the Council of State states that the mandatory administrative registration for Belgians residing abroad would be practically inapplicable and moreover incompatible with Article 22 of the Constitution and Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms relating to the free movement of persons.

Our project takes account of this observation and provides that all Belgians, registered in a consular population register held in a diplomatic post or consular post of career abroad and who make the gesture of this registration given the difficulties they may experience on the ground, will also be subject to the voting obligation.

This is a healthy and common sense project. It is a flexible project that takes into account the difference in the situation of Belgians who are not near their home or near a school on Sunday, and who go from time to time to the diplomatic or consular post. We wanted to give them the right to vote. Mrs. Grauwels, this is a general phenomenon. If we talk so much about it, it is because the right to vote is important.

In Europe, the possibility of voting has been widespread for all European citizens at the local level and further discussions are taking place and the debate is open. I think it would be abnormal, while there are so many discussions to allow non-Belgians to access the vote, that at the moment when we want to give the Belgians the opportunity to vote for representatives in their country, to cling to arguments in the name of democracy. I am therefore deeply grateful to the Chamber of Confidence which, I have no doubt, it will express in relation to this project which, I believe, will delight a large number of Belgians abroad.