30,605 non-Luxembourg voters will go to polling stations in the grand duchy to elect Luxembourg’s representatives to the European Parliament on 9 June 2024. Photo: Maison Moderne (archives)

30,605 non-Luxembourg voters will go to polling stations in the grand duchy to elect Luxembourg’s representatives to the European Parliament on 9 June 2024. Photo: Maison Moderne (archives)

An increasing number of non-Luxembourg residents from the EU want to vote for Luxembourg candidates. While Portuguese voters represent the largest contingent, German voters are the most mobilised.

Non-Luxembourger residents in the grand duchy who are nationals of another EU member state had until 15 April to register to vote in the coming European elections. At the beginning of the year, the family and integration ministry and the European Parliament liaison office had launched the “I can vote” awareness campaign to encourage voter registration: 3,780 responded, bringing the total number of non-Luxembourg voters for the Sunday 9 June election to 30,605, or 15.1% of the eligible population.

15.1% may seem like a small proportion when compared with the 50,093 foreign voters who were on the lists for the , but the local elections are open to all foreign residents and that voters who are nationals of an EU country but not resident there can still vote in the European elections for their national candidates.

That said, the registration dynamic is interesting. In 2019, 23,243 non-Luxembourger voters were registered, for a turnout rate of 11.7%. At the beginning of the year, there were 26,826 foreign voters on the rolls--a registration rate of 13.2%. This increase compared with 2019 can be attributed to the communal elections last June, when the government campaigned to encourage non-Luxembourger residents to register to vote in the local and European elections. Registrations accelerated as the deadline approached. Most of the new registrants did so from mid-March onwards, with 321 people registering on the last day.

Time in Luxembourg a determining factor

In terms of nationality and in absolute terms, Portuguese nationals topped the list with 8,729 registered, representing a registration rate of 11.7%. They are ahead of the French (7,172 registrants or 18.1%) and Italians (3,439 registrants or 16.1%). In relative terms, the Germans, with 2,811 registered, have 26.8% registration rate. They are ahead of the Danes (23.4% or 261 registrants) and the Irish (21.4% or 425 registrants).

Time spent in the country appears to be a decisive factor in people’s willingness to take part in the European elections in Luxembourg. Of the 30,605 registered voters, 11,583 had been resident for more than 20 years, and their turnout rate was 22.9%. For residents of less than four years, this rate falls to 8.1% (4,141 registered voters).

Interestingly, looking at the breakdown of voters by municipality, Betzdorf had the highest rate (27.3%). The lowest rate was in Vianden (7.6%). The capital posted a rate of 14.3%.

Originally published in French by and translated for Delano

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