An information campaign was launched last week to make people aware that they need to register before they can vote.
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. The deadline for registration is 13 July.
So far, only 16.3% of foreign residents (25,501 people) have registered to vote, according to government figures. That represents 9% of the total electorate.
Compared to 2011, this percentage has decreased, mostly because of naturalisations and double citizenship. On average 3,000 people take up citizenship every year and these people disappear from these statistics.
Some people 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.
People who are interested can be trained as “so-called multipliers at the Cefis, who can approach their networks and other people from the area and explain why it is important to register and vote in local elections,” Corinne Cahen, minister for family and integration, said at a press conference on 17 January.
The training is three hours on two evenings and people can still register with Cefis. Sixteen more training sessions are also planned in English.
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.
Local authorities will organise two registration days on 13 May and 1 July 1--both are on a Saturday. However, residents can register anytime--before 13 July.