Jérémy Dodeigne

CDR - Exit Poll 2018

This research project aims to explain voters’ attitudes and motivations at the 2018 Belgian local elections in Wallonia and Brussels. It is the French speaking component of the national project « Belgian Local Exit-Poll ». It is coordinated by UNamur and gathers several researchers from the main universities of the Federation Wallonia-Brussels: UNamur, ULB, UCL et ULg. Two main research themes are studied: on the one hand, the process of nationalization which challenges the local and singular nature of local elections, and, on the other hand, the process of personalization, which underlines the growing influence of candidates’ individual traits on voting behaviour compared to local and national issues. The project also studies the interaction of the two processes. For that research goal, this research project funds the preparation and the conduct of a face-to-face exit poll in 17 municipalities in Wallonia and Brussels (124 pollsters). It furthermore uses the mock-ballot technique while the questionnaire combines open and closed questions. This combination of methods is particularly fruitful to collect accurate and reliable data on voting behaviour on the elections day.

More generally, this project strengthens a dynamic of research collaboration on local politics amongst researchers in the Federation Wallonia-Brussels and in the Flemish Community.