Belgium's 2024 Election: What to Know
For a relatively small country of 11.5 million in northern Europe, Belgium punches above its weight in political relevance and drama, all of which is set to play out on June 9 when Belgians head to the polls.
Brussels, the capital, is the home of the European Union institutions and NATO. The country’s complex identity has long made it a subject of fascination and puzzlement. It is a federation split to a great degree between two communities, the Dutch-speaking Flemish population and the Francophone Walloons, as well as a very small German-speaking minority.
In its historical efforts to accommodate divisions between those communities while keeping the country together, Belgium has created a convoluted governance structure affectionately called “administrative lasagna” — and it’s an accurate depiction of layers upon layers of bureaucracy at work.
On June 9, Belgians will head to the polls to elect not only their representatives in the European Parliament, like hundreds of millions of other people across the European Union, but also their officials for the federal and regional layers of that government lasagna.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/22/world/europe/belgium-2024-election.html