The election procedure is laid down by electoral law.
6 Members of Parliament (MP) to be elected
Elections for the European Parliament are made by direct universal suffrage to elect six MPs with a 5-year mandate.
A single electoral constituency
There is a single electoral constituency for European elections.
The capital of the constituency is Luxembourg.
Universal suffrage
Voters elect MPs directly without any intermediary on the basis of universal suffrage.
Elections are conducted using the list system with proportional representation.
Lists cannot include more than 6 candidates; they must mainly be composed of candidates of Luxembourgish nationality.
Mandatory voting
Voting is mandatory for all registered voters. Voters may not be represented by proxy. Those who are unable to vote in the election must explain the reason for their absence to their local State Prosecutor, and provide the necessary supporting documents. Unjustified abstentions are punishable by a fine. In the event of repeat offences, the penalty is increased.
People living in a different commune than the one where they are asked to vote at the time of the election and voters above 75 years of age have the right to be excluded.
Postal voting
All voters registered on electoral lists are permitted to vote by post as part of European elections.
Right to vote for all EU citizens
European Union nationals residing in the Grand Duchy have the right to vote and stand as a candidate for the European Parliament elections.
They can select one of two voting procedures for the European Parliament.
They can participate in the election of members of the European Parliament from the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. If they opt for this voting procedure, they must register on the electoral lists of their municipality of residence, provided that they are 18 years of age on election day. While up until 2013, you had to be a Luxembourg resident for two years in order to participate, the residency condition has been abolished as a result of the bill of law on the amendment of electoral law that was voted in on 17 December 2013.
EU nationals who were already registered on the electoral lists for the European elections no longer need to register. Once registered, voting is mandatory for subsequent elections. Please note that registering on the electoral lists for the municipal elections is no substitute for registration for the European elections. Also, please note that you can de-register at any time.
they can also elect European MPs in their home country. In that case, they need to address the relevant authorities in their home country, in particular their consulate.
Votes
Voters vote in the main polling station of the municipality where they reside or at the voting locations set by a Grand Ducal ruling.
Voters are permitted to vote on election day from 8 am to 2 pm.
On election day, voters must go to the polling station with their ID card, passport or residence permit. It is not an obligation to produce the polling card.
Each elector who votes in Luxembourg has 6 votes.
Secret elections
The ballot is secret.
The principle of secret votes is not formally stated in the Constitution, but electoral law provides many detailed formalities aimed at safeguarding it.
Each voter has as many votes as the number of MPs to be elected
Each voter has as many votes as there are MPs to elect – i.e. six. Votes may be cast for a list or for individual candidates.
Voters who vote for a list may not cast any additional votes - or their ballot may be cancelled - unless the chosen list includes fewer candidates than there are MPs to be elected. Voters who vote for individual candidates 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.
Allocation of seats
Example of the allocation of seats:
List A: 53,216 votes
List B: 23,015 votes
List C: 30,182 votes
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Total: 106,413 votes
First allocation:
106,413 (number of valid votes) : [6 (number of MPs to be elected) + 1]
106,413 : 7 = 15,201.85
15,201.85 rounded up = 15,202 = electoral quota
number of seats for the list A:
53,216 : 15,202 = 3 seats
number of seats for the list B:
23,015 : 15,202 = 1 seat
number of seats for the list C:
30,182 : 15,202 = 1 seat
Total of distributed seats: 3 + 1 + 1 = 5 seats
But six MPs are to be elected. Therefore, one more seat will have to be distributed. In order to do so, an additional allocation is required.
Additional allocation:
List A: 53,216: 3 seats + 1
53,216 : 4 = 13,304
List B: 23,015 : 1 seat + 1
23,015 : 2 = 11,507
List C: 30,182 : 1 seat + 1
30,182 : 2 = 15,091
The list C obtains the remaining seat, as it has gained the highest number when calculating the additional allocation.
The seats then go to the candidates who obtain the most votes. When there is a tied vote, victory goes to the candidate selected by random draw by the president of Luxembourg's main polling station.
Announcement of the results
The result of the final vote counting and the names of the elected parties are publicly announced by the president of the constituency's main station.
These results are validated by the Chamber of Deputies.