Articles

Stemgedrag in Antwerpse stadswijken : op zoek naar verklaringen op mesoniveau

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Abstract

Official results of local elections are especially interesting when collected at the lowest level possible, to enable analyses of voting behaviour on the smallest social unit. In Antwerp, together with the city-level results, the voting results for the city districts are public too. Yet, still no possibility exists to review the official results at the neighbourhood level. This lack of data makes it difficult to relate specific neighbourhood characteristics to voting behaviour in those neighbourhoods and to compare them. Thus, to collect the data on neighbourhood voting behaviour, we organised an exit-poll in 18 neighbourhoods of seven districts in Antwerp, during the recent county, local and district elections. This article briefly sketches the exit-poll and its organisation and presents the main results. These results will be compared with the formal results on district level, and the neighbourhoods will be compared to one another. The results are - as expected - slightly biased, although in some districts more than in others. Voting behaviour in neighbourhoods turns out to vary strongly. We try to explain the voting behaviour with the help of several neighbourhood characteristics, like the proportion of immigrants and unemployed. The analys is confirms some important correlations, but refutes others. 

How to Cite:

Warmenbol, L. & Meijer, M., (2007) “Stemgedrag in Antwerpse stadswijken : op zoek naar verklaringen op mesoniveau”, Res Publica 49(1), 194-210.