Elections are a key moment in the democratic life of a country. That day, no less than 8 million voters across Belgium were called to the polls. Overall, the day went smoothly in most polling stations, but a few hiccups disrupted the smooth running of the process. Detailed look back at an election day marked by technical challenges in Brussels and organizational problems in Wallonia.
Delays at polling stations in Brussels
The residents of the Brussels municipality of Evere had to be patient. From early morning, an endless line stretched out in front of the polling station, and some voters found themselves waiting much longer than expected.
“I arrived around 8:10 a.m., it’s now 8:43 a.m. and things aren’t really going fast,” confided one voter.
The cause of the delay? An administrative error linked to an envelope containing the wrong codes necessary for the opening of polling stations.
A technical envelope error
A polling station evaluator explains the situation:
“This morning, we were waiting for this envelope to be able to light up and start the entire polling station. We received it in time, but it turned out to be the wrong one, so we didn’t have the right codes to get started.
This confusion delayed the opening of polling stations, testing the patience of voters, some of whom were present well before 8 a.m.
Lack of evaluators in Wallonia
While in Brussels it was technology that was lacking, in Wallonia, particularly in Maurage, the problem was quite different. This polling station had to postpone its opening due to lack of staff. Two evaluators were missing, a major challenge for the organizing team.
A multitasking mother
One of the team members, a mother, explained the difficulty of finding support on Election Day which also coincides with an important personal moment.
“Dad is working and the parents are sick. We hope there will be a volunteer willing to help 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’re going to celebrate her first birthday by having the elections.
Despite these difficulties, the president of the polling station does not give up and tries to recruit volunteers among those present. After several attempts, he finally found the missing assessors.
A race against time to find evaluators
In La Louvière, the process of recruiting evaluators proved particularly complex. The services responsible for the elections were faced with a real race against time to put together the necessary teams.
“As of Tuesday, we had 630 evaluators out of the 1,100 registered. We therefore had to rush at the last minute to be able to recruit again,” explains a local manager.
Fortunately, despite these difficulties, the Maurage polling stations finally found the two missing assessors, allowing them to open the offices and welcome voters in good conditions.
Conclusion
If the election day was overall a success, it nevertheless highlighted a certain number of organizational deficiencies, both technical in Brussels and logistical in Wallonia. However, the mobilization of our teams on the ground and the solidarity of our volunteers allowed us to overcome these obstacles, guaranteeing a smooth voting process for the majority of voters. However, these incidents highlight the importance of better anticipation and preparation for the organization of elections in the future, in order to avoid such problems from recurring.
Originally published in The European Times.
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