In Luxembourg, legislative elections (‘Chamberwahlen’) are held to elect the 60 deputies who make up the Chamber of Deputies (the national Parliament). The usual length of their term is 5 years.

Deputies are elected directly by the nation, without intermediaries, by universal suffrage.

Who is concerned

All Luxembourg nationals registered on the electoral rolls are invited to vote in the legislative elections.

If you reside abroad or have opted for postal vote, you may vote in the legislative elections by postal vote.

How to proceed

Mandatory voting and secret ballot

Voting is mandatory for all registered voters. You cannot be represented by another person. If you are unable to vote in the election, you must explain the reason for your absence to your local State Prosecutor, and provide the necessary supporting documents.

The vote is secret and you cannot be forced to reveal it for any reason (judicial investigation or challenge, parliamentary inquiry, etc.).

Poll card

A poll card is sent by the communal administration to you at least 5 days in advance indicating:

• the date;
• the start and end times of the voting;
• the place where the vote is to be held and, if there are a number of polling stations, the exact name of the station to which you must go.

The poll card contains instructions as well as the list of candidates.

If you show up without your identity card or passport, you may be admitted to vote if your identity and capacity are recognized by the members of the polling station.

The election system

The country is divided into 4 electoral districts:

• the South, comprising the cantons of Esch-sur-Alzette and Capellen;
• the East, comprising the cantons of Grevenmacher, Remich, and Echternach;
• the Centre, comprising the cantons of Luxembourg and Mersch;
• the North, comprising the cantons of Diekirch, Redange, Wiltz, Clervaux, and Vianden.

There are 60 deputies in total:

• 23 deputies to the Southern district;
• 7 deputies to the Eastern district;
• 21 deputies to the Central district; and
• 9 deputies to the Northern district.

Deputies are elected for a term of 5 years. The elections are direct. The 60 deputies are elected using the list system (party list).

As a voter you have as many votes as there are deputies to be elected in your district. Votes may be cast for list or for individual candidates.

The 60 seats are divided among the lists in proportion to the total number of votes for a list (the rule of proportional representation) and of the individual votes received by each list (the principle of the smallest electoral quotient). The system of proportional representation ensures equitable representation to the minority, with seats allocated among the different candidate lists in proportion to the number of votes that they receive.

Voting procedure

You receive a folded ballot paper, stamped on the back with a stamp that states the name of the commune and the number of the polling station.

You will directly have to go into one of the booths, mark your vote, show the chief polling officer your ballot folded back into its original state with the stamp on the outside, and deposit it in the ballot box.

You are forbidden to unfold your ballot once you leave the voting booth in a way that reveals how you voted. If this happens, the chief polling officer will take the unfolded ballot, immediately cancel and destroy it, and invite you to vote again.

If you inadvertently damage the ballot that was given to you, you may ask the chief polling officer for another one after returning the original one, which will be immediately destroyed. This will be recorded in the voting report.

You may spend only as much time in the booth as is necessary to fill out your ballot(s).

As you leave the voting room, the polling officer will admit another person so that the voters succeed each other in the isolated booths without interruption.

If you have a visual, physical, mental, intellectual or sensory disability or are under guardianship, the chief polling officer authorises you to be accompanied by a guide or assistant, and even to have them cast the vote that you are unable to cast yourself.

The guide or assistant has to be a voter. The following persons may not act as guides or assistants for a voter who has a visual, physical, mental, intellectual or sensory disability or is under guardianship:

• candidates in the elections and their relatives by blood or marriage up to and including the 2^nd degree;
• holders of a national, European or communal elected office;
• people who cannot read or write and those who are excluded from the electorate;
• as the case may be, your guardian.

As a visually impaired voter, you may also be entitled to vote using the tactile voting model provided before the elections. Failing this, you may use the model kept available by the polling station.

A polling station member can accompany you into a voting booth to help you insert the ballot correctly into the voting model.

To find out more about postal voting procedure, consult our explanatory information page.

Ballot validity

You have as many votes as there are deputies to be elected in your district.

Votes may be cast for a list or for individual candidates.

If you vote for a list, you may not cast any additional votes, under penalty of cancellation of your ballot, unless the list chosen includes fewer candidates than there are deputies to be elected in your district.

If you vote for individual candidates, you may choose candidates from the same list or from different lists, but must be careful not to vote for more candidates than there are available seats.

You may allocate 2 votes to each of the candidates, up to the total number of votes that you hold.

The following ballots are deemed null and void:

• any ballots other than the one that the chief polling officer has given you at the time of the vote;
• the ballot given to you:
  • if you have cast more votes than there are deputies to be elected;
  • if you have not cast any votes;
  • if an unauthorised deletion, sign or mark may render you recognisable;
  • if it contains any paper or other object inside.

Permission to leave work to vote

If you are an employee, you may obtain permission from your employer to leave work to exercise your civic rights and duties, such as voting in legislative elections.

This permission to leave work in order to vote may not be counted against your paid leave.

Forms / Online services

Who to contact