Lydie Polfer, mayor of Luxembourg City, said this week that relatively few of the capital’s foreign residents have signed up to vote in this autumn’s council elections. Pictured: Polfer speaks during a Paperjam Club conference on urban development in the capital, held in October 2016. Maison Moderne

Lydie Polfer, mayor of Luxembourg City, said this week that relatively few of the capital’s foreign residents have signed up to vote in this autumn’s council elections. Pictured: Polfer speaks during a Paperjam Club conference on urban development in the capital, held in October 2016. Maison Moderne

The population of foreign residents who qualify to vote stands at around 40,000--but only 4,512 have done so, officials said during a press conference on 3 May.

Lydie Polfer, the DP mayor of Luxembourg City, and DP council member Patrick Goldschmidt have argued that this low interest of foreign residents for the local elections is an indicator that they are satisfied.

Authorities reiterated that the Bierger Center, where residents can register, will be open on Saturday 13 May and Saturday 1 July.

Every resident over 18 years old, and who has lived in the grand duchy for at least 5 years, can vote in the local elections in their commune. The deadline to register is 13 July.

In order to register, residents need to take their ID card to the “Bureau de la population” at their local town hall and follow the procedure. Non-Luxembourgers can even run for office.

Some expats are worried about the mandatory aspect of voting once they register, but it is very easy to ask for a postal vote when a resident can’t physically go to the polls on election day.

It is important to note that local and European Parliament elections are two different elections. If someone registered in 2014 for the EP elections, they still have to register separately for local elections.

New contract for Vél’oh

During the same press conference, officials said that the current contract for operating Vél’oh bike sharing scheme is coming to an end this year and a call for applications is being sent out by the municipality. The local council stated that it will add the condition of banning advertisements on the bikes.

Currently, JCDecaux operates the bikes and finances it mostly through adverts. The local authority has not excluded its own financial participation in the scheme or raising subscriptions to compensate for the financial loss.

However, Green councilor Sam Tanson did not rule out ads being placed on spokes, but Polfer was not enthralled by that idea.

Events for people with special needs

During the ING night marathon on 27 May, there will also be a “roll and run” event on Limpertsberg. Furthermore, the city and over 80 partners are organising several conferences, events, exhibitions and dinners in the dark during May.