Belgian Minister of the Interior Bernard Quintin (MR) believes there is a real possibility that paper ballots will once again be used in the 2029 federal elections and the 2030 municipal elections. ‘It will be tight, according to the administration even too tight, to be ready by 2029,’ said Quintin, referring to the development of a new and reliable electronic voting system. ‘As a precaution, the paper has been ordered and we are working on the pencils.’ The federal government is at risk of not being able to complete the development of a new electronic voting system in time.
The contract with Smartmatic, the current supplier of electronic voting systems, expires in 2027. The federal government has been considering replacing the current system for six years. “Between 2020 and 2023, studies were carried out into both internet voting and an upgrade of the current offline electronic voting system. Ultimately, the second option was chosen. The mid-2025 deadline for the new public tender has not been met.
