Belgium : between national barometer and local atmosphere

Every six years, local citizens elect the councils of the 581 municipalities of Belgium. The 13,450 seats are filled at large by a (semi-)open proportional list system. With compulsory voting, turnout is high and slightly exceeds that for national elections. Local elections and voting are relatively competitive. They take place in a fully regionalized party system. Within the confines of this split, local chapters of national political parties clearly outnumber nonnational lists. There are substantial differences in the presence and success of party families (between localities and vis-à-vis the national level). While displaying national barometric tendencies, local elections and voting demonstrate their own patterns and dynamics in an atmosphere of place-bound storylines and actors. Meanwhile, reform (plans) again appears to homogenize the institutional climate