A photo of the election party campaign boards in the rose garden in Luxembourg City on 7 September 2018 Delano

A photo of the election party campaign boards in the rose garden in Luxembourg City on 7 September 2018 Delano

Luxembourg nationals go to the ballot on 14 October for the legislative elections. As you may already be aware, voting is compulsory for Luxembourgers aged 18-75 who enjoy civil and political rights. If you are over 75 your vote still counts but you are not obliged to vote.

If you live abroad, your vote still counts provided you send your postal vote in time.

How many MPs or deputies are there to elect?

The number of deputies to be elected depends on the constituency you live in. Each voter has as many votes as there are MPs to elect in his or her constituency as follows:

  •     Centre constituency: 21 deputies;
  •     South constituency: 23 deputies;
  •     North constituency: 9 deputies;
  •     East constituency: 7 deputies.

How do I fill out the ballot form?

You can vote by list, so choosing a party, or registered vote, in which case you choose the candidates.

List suffrage

In this instance, the voter chooses a party and gives all their votes to one party only. To do so, using a blank pen, draw a cross in the circle above the list of your choice.

Each candidate on this list then receives one vote. It is important to note that once you have done this, you cannot make more crosses next to names or choose a second party otherwise your ballot will be considered void.

Nominal suffrage, also known as vote-splitting

In this instance, the voter chooses candidates from the same or different lists. Each voter has a number of votes equivalent to the number of deputies to be elected in their constituency (e.g., 23 for the south). They can give each candidate 1 or 2 votes. It is important to note that the voter cannot cast more votes than there are seats available in the constituency.

When is a ballot considered invalid?

The ballot paper is considered invalid if:

  •     the voter has cast more votes than there are deputies to elect;
  •     the elector did not cast any votes;
  •     a deletion, sign or mark not authorised by law is visible;
  •     the ballot contains inside a paper or any other object.

What to bring with you on election day

On 14 October, voters should go to their nearest polling station with an ID card or passport. Remember, polling stations close at 2pm.

Postal voting

The deadline for requesting a postal vote from a home abroad was 4 September so too late for this year. But if you are a Luxembourg resident, you have from now until 19 September to register for a postal vote.

What happens next?

The ballots will be counted and official results published on the website www.elections.lu.

The 60 people who received the most votes in the elections will form the new Luxembourg parliament, known as the Chamber of Deputies. After verifying that their election is permitted within the rules, the new MPs will be sworn in at the first sitting of the new parliamentary session on Tuesday 30 October at 2.30pm.

When the future majority party or parties have formed a government, some elected officials will join the government leave their seats empty in parliament, as the role of minister or secretary cannot be combined with that of a deputy.

Stay tuned for our political party introduction articles to be published starting 24 September 2019.

Source: chd.lu