2006 Belgian local elections#Provinces

{{Infobox election

| election_name = 2006 Belgian local elections

| country = Belgium

| type =

| ongoing = no

| previous_election = 2000 Belgian local elections

| previous_year = 2000

| next_election = 2012 Belgian local elections

| next_year = 2012

| election_date = {{Start date|2006|10|08|df=yes}}

| map_image = L2006.png

}}

The Belgian provincial, municipal and district elections of 2006 took place on Sunday 8 October 2006. The electors have elected the municipal councillors of 589 cities and towns (308 in the Flemish Region, 262 in the Walloon Region and 19 in the Brussels-Capital Region) as well as the ten provincial councils. The voters in the town of Antwerp have also been able to vote for the city's district councils. In seven Flemish municipalities with a special language statute (Drogenbos, Kraainem, Linkebeek, Sint-Genesius-Rode, Wemmel, Wezembeek-Oppem and Voeren) and in the Walloon municipality of Comines-Warneton the aldermen and the members of the OCMW/CPAS council have also been directly elected.

It was the first municipal and provincial elections since the transfer of the competence with regards to the municipalities and provinces to the regions, also residents without E.U. citizenship could vote for the first time if they had registered to vote. The previous municipal and provincial elections took place on Sunday 8 October 2000.

City and provincial councillors are elected to a six-year term. Newly elected councillors took office in January 2007, with the term ending in 2013.

Points of notice are the result of the governing federal government coalition (liberal/social-democrat) – for whom a bad result could spell defeat in the federal general elections to be held no later than June 2007 – and the result of the Vlaams Belang party in Antwerp and the other Flemish towns.

Organisation

The municipal and provincial elections of 2006 were the first of its kind to be organized by the Regions instead of the federal government. The competence with regards to the municipalities and provinces was transferred from the federation to the Regions by special law of 13 June 2001.

Image:Logo elections2006.png

Image:Vlaanderenkiest.png

The Flemish minister of the Interior Marino Keulen announced that the results of the elections held in the Flemish Region would be available in real time on the official dedicated government website [http://www.vlaanderenkiest.be/ www.vlaanderenkiest.be].

Municipal elections

These have taken place in Flanders, Wallonia and the Brussels Capital Region. The municipal councils were elected by a very rare form of party-list proportional representation, the Imperiali highest averages method.{{Citation needed|date=May 2024}}

The parties presented themselves with lists of candidates. The number of candidates on the list usually was the total number of seats to be taken in the council. Each list received a random number, which was assigned by a lottery. Parties that had representatives in the regional parliaments, could receive a number that is the same in the entire region. Other parties' numbers varied from municipality to municipality. These numbers started after the regional numbers (8 and higher in Flanders, 14 and higher in Brussels, 6 and higher in Wallonia).

The regional list numbers:

class="wikitable"

! Flemish Region{{in lang|nl}} [http://www.standaard.be/Krant/Tekst/artikel.aspx?artikelid=G0L10SP64&date=20060830 Traditioneel nummertje] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121115132549/http://www.standaard.be/Krant/Tekst/artikel.aspx?artikelid=G0L10SP64&date=20060830 |date=15 November 2012 }}, De Standaard, 30 August 2006 !! Brussels Region{{in lang|fr}} [http://www.lalibre.be/article.phtml?id=10&subid=1083&art_id=303145 Les listes ont leur numéro à Bruxelles] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929092551/http://www.lalibre.be/article.phtml?id=10&subid=1083&art_id=303145 |date=29 September 2007 }}, La Libre Belgique, 30 August 2006 !! Walloon Region

valign="top" |

|valign="top" |

Provincial elections

These have taken place in Flanders and Wallonia. In the Brussels Capital Region no provincial elections were held as Brussels is not part of any Belgian province, the provincial competences almost entirely being assumed by the Region, the Agglomeration and the Community Commissions.

The list numbers used were the same as for the municipalities.

Polls

=Flemish region=

==Het Laatste Nieuws==

The polls conducted by the Stemmenkampioen site of Het Laatste Nieuws and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel,{{in lang|nl}} [http://stemmenkampioen.hln.be De Stemmenkampioen] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070210114150/http://stemmenkampioen.hln.be/ |date=10 February 2007 }} yielded the following overall result for Flanders, compared to the 2004 regional elections (the last column displays the difference between the latest polls and that result):

border="1" cellpadding="2"

!Party/Alliance

!06/2004 (%)

!12/2005 (%)

!03/2006 (%)

!05/2006 (%)

!06/2006 (%)

!09/2006 (%)

!diff '04 (%)

CD&V – N-VA

|26.1

|30.9

|31.7

|30.7

|30.6

|31.1

| +5.0

Vlaams Belang

|24.2

|26.8

|27.4

|28.2

|28.9

|28.2

| +4.0

SP.a – Spirit

|19.7

|17.9

|17.0

|17.3

|17.5

|17.3

| −2.4

VLD – Vivant

|19.8

|14.5

|14.7

|14.5

|14.1

|14.2

| −5.6

Groen!

|7.6

|6.6

|6.7

|6.5

|6.1

| −1.5

Others

|2.7

|3.2

|2.7

|2.6

|2.4

|3.1

| +0.4

The last poll not taking into account alliances dates from September 2006 and showed these results:{{in lang|nl}} [http://stemmenkampioen.hln.be/Resultaten/september_2006.php Resulaten voor september 2006]{{dead link|date=October 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, De Stemmenkampioen

border="1" cellpadding="2"

!Party

!Results (%)

|28.2

|23.3

|15.9

|13.6

|7.8

|6.1

|1.4

|0.6

Others

|3.1

==Standaard – VRT==

The latest poll by De Standaard and VRT yielded the following overall results for Flanders, compared to the 2004 regional elections (the last column displays the difference between the latest polls and that result):

border="1" cellpadding="2"

!Party/Alliance

!06/2004 (%)

!02/2006 (%)

!06/2006 (%)

!diff '04 (%)

CD&V – N-VA

|26.1

|29.1

|29.4

| +3.3

Vlaams Belang

|24.2

|22.5

|23.1

| −1.1

SP.a – Spirit

|19.7

|20.4

|20.7

| +1.0

VLD – Vivant

|19.8

|18.9

|18.2

| −1.6

Groen!

|7.6

|8.7

|7.5

| −0.1

Others

|2.7

|0.4

|1.0

| −1.7

==Antwerp==

Poll by the Gazet van Antwerpen and VRT, taken between 31 January and 23 February 2006, compared to the 2000 municipal elections (the last column displays the difference between the latest polls and that result):

border="1" cellpadding="2"

!Party

!10/2000 (%)

!02/2006 (%)

!diff '00 (%)

Vlaams Belang – VLOTT

|33.0

|34.2

| +1.2

SP.a – Spirit

|19.5

|23.8

| +4.3

VLD – Vivant

|18.5

|12.9

| −5.6

CD&V – N-VA

|14.2

|14.5

| +0.3

Groen!

|11.1

|8.3

| −2.8

Others

|3.7

|6.3

| +2.6

July and September 2006 polls conducted by the Stemmenkampioen site of Het Laatste Nieuws and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, yielded the following result for Antwerp, compared to the 2000 municipal elections (the last column displays the difference between the latest polls and that result):

border="1" cellpadding="2"

!Party

!10/2000 (%)

!07/2006 (%)

!09/2006 (%)

!diff '00 (%)

Vlaams Belang – VLOTT

|33.0

|34.2

|38.6

| +5.6

SP.a – Spirit

|19.5

|20.2

|21.1

| +1.6

VLD – Vivant

|18.5

|10.2

|8.5

| −10.0

CD&V – N-VA

|14.2

|19.4

|16.6

| +2.4

Groen!

|11.1

|7.2

|6.2

| −4.9

Others

|3.7

|8.8

|9.0

| −5.3

=[[Wallonia|Walloon Region]]=

A poll conducted by the RTBF and the Sud Presse in June 2006 showed the following results, compared to the 2000 municipal elections (the last column displays the difference between the latest polls and that result):{{in lang|fr}} [http://www.lalibre.be/article.phtml?id=10&subid=90&art_id=290358 Les socialistes perdraient des plumes] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929121724/http://www.lalibre.be/article.phtml?id=10&subid=90&art_id=290358 |date=29 September 2007 }}, La Libre Belgique, 8 June 2006

==[[Charleroi]]==

border="1" cellpadding="2"

!Party

!10/2000 (%)

!06/2006 (%)

!diff '00 (%)

Socialist Party (Parti Socialiste)

|51.4

|31.9

| −19.5

Reformist Movement (Mouvement Réformateur)

|16.1

|23.1

| +7.0

Humanist Democratic Centre (Centre Démocrate Humaniste)

|9.6

|14.9

| +5.0

Ecolo

|11.4

|11.0

| −0.4

National Front (Front National)

|6.9

|16.5

| +9.6

Results

=Flanders=

==Provinces==

The provincial elections are the only 2006 elections that allow for a national comparison, since in municipal elections not all parties run in all municipalities.{{in lang|nl}} [http://www2.knack.be/cmp/11/1140/46260/Verkiezingen-06--de-uitslagen-article.html Knack] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927203803/http://www2.knack.be/cmp/11/1140/46260/Verkiezingen-06--de-uitslagen-article.html |date=27 September 2007 }}

style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=left colspan=2 width=300\|Party !style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=left width=50\|Votes !style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=left width=50\|% !style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=left width=50\|+/– (2000) !style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=left width=50\|Seats !style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=left width=50\|+/– (2000)
class="wikitable" font-size=95%
{{party color cell\|Christen-Democratisch en Vlaams}} \|align=left\|Christian Democratic and Flemish (CD&V)–New Flemish Alliance (N-VA)	1,231,655	30.6	*	136	*
{{party color cell\|Vlaams Belang}} \|align=left\|Flemish Interest (VB)	879,046	20.7		88	{{increase}} 34
{{party color cell\|Socialistische Partij Anders}} \|align=left\|Socialist Party Different (SP.A)–Spirit	785,528	19.6		84	{{increase}} 8
{{party color cell\|Open Vlaamse Liberalen en Democraten}} \|align=left\|Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats (Open VLD)–Vivant	745,952	18.9		80	{{decrease}} 27
{{party color cell\|Groen (political party)}} \|align=left\|Green!	311,912	7.5		17	{{decrease}} 9
{{party color cell\|Union des Francophones}} \|align=left\|Union of Francophones (UF)	54,733			6	{{steady}} 0
\|align=left\|Other parties	57,782			—
bgcolor=efefef \| colspan=2 align=right\|Valid votes	4,584,584
bgcolor=efefef \| colspan=2 align=right\|Blanco and invalid votes
bgcolor=efefef \| colspan=2 align=right\|Total				411

style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=left colspan=2 \|Party !style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=left width=100\|{{flagicon\|Antwerp}} Antwerp !style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=left width=100\|{{flagicon\|East Flanders}} East Flanders !style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=left width=100\|{{flagicon\|Flemish Brabant}} Flemish Brabant !style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=left width=100\|{{flagicon\|Limburg (Belgium)}} Limburg !style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=left width=100\|{{flagicon\|West Flanders}} West Flanders !style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=left width=100\|Total
class="wikitable" font-size=95%
{{party color cell\|Christen-Democratisch en Vlaams}} \|align=left\|Christian Democratic and Flemish (CD&V)–New Flemish Alliance (N-VA)	24	bgcolor="orange"\|25	bgcolor="orange"\|25	bgcolor="orange"\|26	bgcolor="orange"\|36	136
{{party color cell\|Vlaams Belang}} \|align=left\|Flemish Interest (VB)	bgcolor="#F2BD2E"\|25	19	15	15	19	88
{{party color cell\|Socialistische Partij Anders}} \|align=left\|Socialist Party Different (SP.A)–Spirit	18	14	14	20	18	84
{{party color cell\|Open Vlaamse Liberalen en Democraten}} \|align=left\|Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats (Open VLD)–Vivant	13	22	17	14	14	80
{{party color cell\|Groen (political party)}} \|align=left\|Green!	4	4	7	0	2	17
{{party color cell\|Union des Francophones}} \|align=left\|Union of Francophones (UF)	−	−	6	−	−	6

==Municipalities==

Most important conclusions are that Vlaams Belang achieves status quo in large cities as Antwerp, Brussels and Ghent but advances strongly in the countryside. The CD&V-N-VA gains nearly everywhere, VLD and Groen! lose nearly everywhere. The VLD was able to consolidate where they put forth nationally known candidates, like Guy Verhofstadt in Ghent and Vincent Van Quickenborne in Kortrijk. The SP.A-Spirit puts strong results in cities like Antwerp, Ghent and Ostend but has mixed results in other places.

Most coalitions before the elections can continue with a stronger backing, most notably in Ghent and Mechelen. An exception to this general 'rule' is Vilvoorde, where former prime minister Jean-Luc Dehaene loses his majority.

===Antwerp===

class="wikitable"

!Party !! Leader

!2000 (%)

!seats 2000

!2006 (%)

!seats 2006

SP.a – SPIRIT *

Patrick Janssens

|19.5

|12

|35.5

|22

Vlaams Belang – VLOTT

Filip Dewinter

|33.0

|20

|33.5

|20

VLD – Vivant

Ludo Van Campenhout

|18.5

|10

|9.7

CD&V – N-VA *

Philip Heylen

|11.1

|11.2

Groen!

Freya Piryns

|11.1

|4.7

VU-ID *

|3.1

|–

Others

|3.9

|6.2

In 2001 the VU-ID split up in 2 wings: the centre-right Flemish nationalist NVA, which formed a cartel with the Christian Democratic CD&V and the social-liberal Spirit which formed a cartel with the Socialist SPA.

Bruges

colspan=2\|Party	Leader	Votes	%	Seats
class="wikitable" font-size=95%
{{party color cell\|Christen-Democratisch en Vlaams}} \|align=left\|CD&V / N-VA	Patrick Moenaert	32,092	38.86	20
{{party color cell\|Socialistische Partij Anders}} \|align=left\|SP.A / Spirit	Frank Vandevoorde	20,028	25.25	12
{{party color cell\|Vlaams Belang}} \|align=left\|Flemish Interest	Frank Vanhecke	13,408	16.24	8
{{party color cell\|Open Vlaamse Liberalen en Democraten}} \|align=left\|Open VLD / Vivant	Mercedes Van Volcem	9,520	11.53	5
{{party color cell\|Groen (political party)}} \|align=left\|Green!	Rita Brauwers	5,328	6.45	2
\|align=left colspan=2\|Other parties	2.207	2.67	—
bgcolor=efefef \| colspan=3 align=right\|Valid votes	82,583	colspan=2\|89.12
bgcolor=efefef \| colspan=3 align=right\|Invalid votes	3,776	colspan=2\|4.07
bgcolor=efefef \| colspan=3 align=right\|Blanco votes	6,310	colspan=2\|6.81
bgcolor=efefef \| colspan=3 align=right\|Total	92,669	100	47

Ghent

colspan=2\|Party	Leader	Votes	%	Seats	+/–
class="wikitable" font-size=95%
{{party color cell\|Socialistische Partij Anders}} \|align=left\|SP.A / Spirit	Daniël Termont	49.265	31.58	17	3 {{increase}}
{{party color cell\|Open Vlaamse Liberalen en Democraten}} \|align=left\|Open VLD / Vivant	Sas Van Rouveroij	32,819	21.04	11	0 {{steady}}
{{party color cell\|Vlaams Belang}} \|align=left\|Flemish Interest	Francis Van Den Eynde	28,152	18.05	9	2 {{decrease}}
{{party color cell\|Christen-Democratisch en Vlaams}} \|align=left\|CD&V / N-VA	Filip Van Laecke	24,698	15.83	8	3 {{decrease}}
{{party color cell\|Groen (political party)}} \|align=left\|Green!	Vera Dua	18,808	12.06	6	2 {{increase}}

Ostend

colspan=2\|Party	Leader	Votes	%	Seats
class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%; width:700px;"
{{party color cell\|Socialistische Partij Anders}} \|align=left\|SP.A / Spirit	Jean Vandecasteele	22,142	45.67	20
{{party color cell\|Vlaams Belang}} \|align=left\|Flemish Interest	Christian Verougstraete	8,157	16.82	7
{{party color cell\|Open Vlaamse Liberalen en Democraten}} \|align=left\|Open VLD / Vivant	Bart Tommelein	7,793	16.07	6
{{party color cell\|Christen-Democratisch en Vlaams}} \|align=left\|CD&V / N-VA	Hilde Veulemans	6,821	14.07	5
{{party color cell\|Groen (political party)}} \|align=left\|Green!	Wouter De Vriendt	2,893	5.97	1
\|align=left colspan=2\|Other parties	678	1.40	—
bgcolor=efefef \| colspan=3 align=right\|Valid votes	48,484	colspan=2\|
bgcolor=efefef \| colspan=3 align=right\|Invalid votes		colspan=2\|
bgcolor=efefef \| colspan=3 align=right\|Blanco votes		colspan=2\|
bgcolor=efefef \| colspan=3 align=right\|Total			39
colspan=6\|Notes: The Socialist Party became the winner, under direction of Johan Vande Lanotte. Jean-Marie Dedecker, was a local candidate for the VLD, who in the run-up to the elections clashed severely with Vande Lanotte. Dedecker has since been ejected by the VLD and has formed his own party List Dedecker.

==Districts (Antwerp)==

Heavily anticipated were the results for Merksem, Deurne and Hoboken, where it was believed Vlaams Belang could obtain an absolute majority. This however did not turn out to be the case, even though the party does advance in all but two districts (Antwerp and Borgerhout). Most notably, in Hoboken a majority without Vlaams Belang will only be possible by including the extreme left PVDA, although another party, N-VA, has already ruled out such a coalition.

=Wallonia=

==Provinces==

==Municipalities==

===Namur===

In Namur, the capital of Wallonia, the Socialist Party (PS) lost 7.4% of its votes, enough for the local Christian-democrats (cdH), Liberals (MR) and Greens (Ecolo) to start a coalition, breaking with the 30-year Socialist hegemony there. Jacques Etienne of chH will become the new mayor.{{cite news|title=Socialists ousted in Namur|url=http://www.vrtnieuws.net/nieuwsnet_master/versie2/english/details/061013_namur/index.shtml|publisher=VRT Nieuws|date=13 October 2006}}

=Brussels=

References

External links

{{in lang|fr}} [http://elections2006.brussels/results/fr/local_brussels/home.html Brussels Official dedicated government website]
{{in lang|nl}} [http://www.vlaanderenkiest.be/ Flanders Official dedicated government website]
{{in lang|fr}} [http://elections2006.wallonie.be/ Walloon Official dedicated government website]
{{in lang|nl}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20070518112217/http://www.pixagogo.com/8026945922 De verkiezingswedstrijd – Electoral posters]
{{in lang|fr}} [http://tractotheque.blogspot.be/search/label/Belgique%202018 Electoral leaflets and posters] (site map for [http://wiki.suffrage-universel.be/index.php?title=Tractoth%C3%A8que/%C3%A9lections_communales_en_r%C3%A9gion_bruxelloise Brussels], [http://wiki.suffrage-universel.be/index.php?title=Tractoth%C3%A8que/%C3%A9lections_communales_et_provinciales_en_Flandre Flanders], [http://wiki.suffrage-universel.be/index.php?title=Tractoth%C3%A8que/%C3%A9lections_communales_et_provinciales_en_Wallonie Wallonia]), Tractothèque

2006

Local elections

Category:October 2006 in Europe