Belgium Gears Up for Historic Elections on June 9

Belgium is gearing up for a historic triple election, with voters set to cast their ballots for a new federal parliament, regional parliaments, and members of the European Parliament all on the same day. The elections are scheduled for June 9th, and millions of paper ballots are currently being prepared and dispatched throughout the country in anticipation of the upcoming polls.

The Inni Group, responsible for printing and preparing around 8 million ballots for the elections, is also supplying voting cabins and other election materials. Managing director Tom Deschildre emphasized the importance of paper ballots, citing examples from other countries like the Netherlands where a return to paper voting has been favored due to concerns over digital security and cost-effectiveness.

With approximately 400 million European Union citizens set to participate in the European Parliament elections, the scale of the operation is immense. Deschildre highlighted the logistical challenges of managing such vast quantities of voting materials, including 3 million voting invitations, 8 million ballots, and over 2,000 voting booths.

In the run-up to the elections, Flemish nationalists are expected to make significant gains, while in Wallonia, social democrats and the far-left have been dominating the campaign. The stage is set for what is being dubbed as the “mother of all elections” in Belgium, with the outcome likely to shape the country’s political landscape for years to come.