Each commune has a communal council (which represents the commune) and a board of aldermen (which is the executive and administrative body for day-to-day management of the commune). The communal councillors are directly elected by the inhabitants of the commune.

The communal council is renewed every 6 years during elections which are usually held on the second Sunday in October.

The elections can be moved to the first Sunday in June if the legislative elections and the communal elections were scheduled to take place in October of the same year.

The number of communal councillors in the communal council is determined by the number of inhabitants in the commune.

Each commune is an electoral district. Voters have as many votes as there are councillors to elect. The members of the board of aldermen of each commune are selected from the communal council. Voting is mandatory for all registered voters, regardless of their nationality. Voters may not be represented by proxy.

A postal voting system has been put in place for all voters in order to prevent abstention.

Who is concerned

All voters registered on the electoral roll can ask to vote by correspondence during the communal elections.

Prerequisites

The voter must first be registered on the electoral rolls.

Deadlines

The request for a postal vote must be sent to the voter's commune of residence:

• at the earliest 12 weeks and at the latest 25 days before election day, if the poll card is sent to an address in Luxembourg;
• at the earliest 12 weeks and at the latest 40 days before election day, if the poll card is sent abroad;

How to proceed

Applying for postal vote

An voter wishing to vote by mail during the communal elections must inform the commune and request the poll card.

The request for the poll card can be made:

• electronically via MyGuichet.lu; or
• by post (on free paper or on a pre-printed form to be obtained from the voter's commune of residence).

The application must state:

• name(s);
• first name(s);
• date and place of birth;
• the voter's address; and
  
• the address to which the poll card has to be sent.

Upon receipt of the request, the commune checks if:

• the application contains the required information and documents;
• the applicant is registered on the electoral rolls;

Rejection of the application

If the applicant does not meet the conditions for postal voting (incomplete application or lack of registration on the electoral roll), the commune will inform them of the refusal:

• at the latest 20 days before the election, if the voter lives in Luxembourg;
• at the latest 35 days before the election, if the voter lives abroad;

Obtaining a polling card

If the request for postal voting is accepted, the commune will send the poll card by registered mail to the voter.

The poll card is sent, at the latest:

• 15 days before the election, if the voter lives in Luxembourg;
• 30 days before the election, if the voter lives abroad.

The poll card contains the following information:

• the list of candidates;
• depending on the commune, the voter instructions for postal voting in a communal election by relative majority or proportional representation;
• a non-transparent, standard-type, duly stamped electoral envelope;
• duly stamped ballot papers;
• an envelope – for the transmission of the electoral envelope – which must bear the inscription "Élections - Vote par correspondance", and mention the polling station on the lower right corner of the envelope and the reference number, name, first name(s) and address of the voter.

Each commune will prepare an alphabetical list of voters having applied to vote by post, including surname, given name(s), nationality, date and place of birth, domicile and current address of each voter. Voters appearing on this list can no longer choose another voting method.

Completing and sending the ballot

Voters must complete their ballot papers depending on whether the election is made by relative majority or proportional representation.

The visually impaired voter can use the tactile voting model to express their vote.

To send the ballot to the polling station, voters must place the ballot paper, duly completed and folded, with the stamp showing on the outside, in the electoral envelope. The electoral envelope must be placed inside the postal envelope and sent by ordinary post. The envelope must be received by the polling station on the day of the election before 14.00 at the latest.

Envelopes containing the ballot are kept in the post room of the receiving polling station until election day.

Forms / Online services

Who to contact