Elections are a key moment in the democratic life of a country. On this day, no fewer than 8 million voters across Belgium were called to the polls. On the whole, the day went off without a hitch at most polling stations, but there were a few hiccups that disrupted the smooth running of the process. Here’s a detailed look back at election day, marked by technical challenges in Brussels and organizational problems in Wallonia.
Delays at polling stations in Brussels
Residents of the Brussels commune of Evere had to be patient. From early morning onwards, an interminable line stretched out in front of the polling station, and some voters found themselves waiting much longer than expected.
“I arrived at around 8.10am, it’s now 8.43am, and it’s not really moving fast,” confided one voter.
The cause of the delay? An administrative error linked to an envelope containing the wrong codes needed to open the polling stations.
A technical envelope error
A polling station assessor explains the situation:
“This morning, we were waiting for this envelope to be able to switch on and start up the entire polling station. We received it on time, but it turned out to be the wrong one, so we didn’t have the right codes to start up.”
This confusion delayed the opening of polling stations, testing the patience of voters, some of whom were present well before 8am.
Lack of assessors in Wallonia
While in Brussels it was the technology that was lacking, in Wallonia, notably in Maurage, the problem was quite different. This polling station had to postpone its opening due to staff shortages. Two assessors were missing, a major challenge for the organizing team.
A multi-tasking mother
One of the team members, a mother, explained the difficulty of finding support on this election day, which also coincided with an important personal moment.
“Dad works, and the parents are sick. We’re hoping there will be a volunteer willing to help out to take the mental and physical load off our shoulders. It’s a special day because it’s also my daughter’s first birthday, so we’ll be celebrating her first birthday by doing the elections.”
Despite these challenges, the president of the polling station doesn’t give up and tries to recruit volunteers from among those present. After several attempts, he finally found the missing assessors.
A race against time to find assessors
In La Louvière, the process of recruiting assessors proved particularly complex. The departments responsible for the elections were faced with a veritable race against the clock to assemble the necessary teams.
“On Tuesday, we had 630 assessors out of the 1,100 who had registered. So we had to rush at the last minute to be able to recruit again,” explained a local official.
Fortunately, despite these difficulties, the polling stations in Maurage finally found the two missing assessors, enabling them to open the stations and welcome voters in good conditions.
Conclusion
Although the election day was a success overall, it did highlight a number of organizational shortcomings, both technical in Brussels and logistical in Wallonia. Nevertheless, the mobilization of our teams in the field and the solidarity of our volunteers enabled us to overcome these obstacles, guaranteeing a smooth voting process for the majority of voters. However, these incidents underline the importance of better anticipation and preparation for the organization of elections in the future, to avoid such problems recurring.
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First published in this link of The European Times.
