Editing Essen, Belgium (section)

==Politics==
=== Structure ===
The municipality of Essen is part of the electoral district of Brecht, located in the provincial district of Kapellen, the electoral district of Antwerp and finally the electoral district of Antwerp.

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:74%; text-align:center;"
!colspan="2" | Essen ||Supranational || colspan="2" | National || Community || Region || [[Provinces of Belgium|Province]]|| [[Arrondissement]] || County District || Canton || Municipality
|-
! rowspan="3" ! style="font-size:75%;" | Administrative!!Level
| [[European Union]]|| colspan="2" |Belgium
| colspan="2" | Flanders || Antwerp|| colspan="3" | Antwerp || '''Essen'''
|-
! Leadership
|''[[European Commission]]''||colspan="2" | ''Belgian government''|| colspan="2" | ''[[Vlaamse regering|Flemish Government]]''|| colspan="4" | ''Deputaty'' ||''[[College van burgemeester en schepenen|City Council]]''
|-
! Council
|''[[European Parliament]]''||''Chamber ofpeople's representatives''|| colspan="3" | ''[[Vlaams Parlement|Flemish Parliament]]'' || colspan="4" | ''[[Provincieraad|County Council]]'' || Town Council
|-
!colspan="2"|Select description
|[[Vlaamse Gemeenschap|Nederlands Kiescollege]]||colspan="5"|Electoral district Antwerp||Antwerp||[[Provinciedistrict Kapellen|Kapellen]]|| [[Kanton Brecht|Brecht]] ||'''Essen'''
|-
!colspan="2"|Election
| ''European''||colspan="2" | ''Federal''|| colspan="2" | Flemish|| colspan="4" | ''Provincial Council-'' || ''[[gemeenteraadsverkiezingen|Gemeenteraads-]]''
|}

=== City Council ===
{| class="wikitable" width="50%"
! colspan="2" | College of Mayor and Aldermen (2019–2024)
|-
|'''[[Burgemeester|Mayor]]'''
| [[Gaston Van Tichelt]] ([[Christen-Democratisch en Vlaams|CD&V]])
|-
|'''[[Alderman|Aldermen]]'''
#Dirk Konings ([[Christen-Democratisch en Vlaams|CD&V]])
#Helmut Jaspers ([[sp.a]])
#Brigitte Quick ([[Christen-Democratisch en Vlaams|CD&V]])
#Arno Aerden ([[sp.a]])
#Brigitte Van Aert ([[Christen-Democratisch en Vlaams|CD&V]])
|-
|'''President of the City Council'''
| Ludo Somers ([[Christen-Democratisch en Vlaams|CD&V]])
|-
|'''CPAS President'''
| Ludo Somers ([[Christen-Democratisch en Vlaams|CD&V]])
|}

=== History ===
==== (Previous) Mayors ====
{| class="wikitable"
! ! style="text-align:left;" colspan=2| Time Period !! Mayor
|-
| || ? - 1803 || Lemmens<ref>[https://search.arch.be/nl/zoeken-naar-archieven/zoekresultaat/ead/zoekresultaat/eadid/BE-A0511_113295_112002_DUT/ Inventaris van het archief van de provincie Antwerpen, Burgemeesters, 1798-1970: Essen]</ref>
|-
| || 1803 - ? || Lauwers
|-
| || 1836 - ? || [[Karel Van Beeck]]
|-
| || ? - 1866 || [[Leopold Claessens]]
|-
| || 1870 - 1883 || [[Willem Van Loon]]<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20160827133556/http://esseninbeeld.2910essen.info/fotoproject/oudefotopagina.php?nummer=5079&richting=1 Foto 5079]; Essen in Beeld</ref><ref>[https://search.arch.be/nl/zoeken-naar-archieven/zoekresultaat/inventaris/index/zoekterm/essen/eadid/BE-A0511_113295_112002_DUT/inventarisnr/I1132951120020001177/level/file#c:1.c:1015 Burgemeester W Van Loon overleden, 1883]; Inventaris van het archief van de provincie Antwerpen</ref>
|-
| || 1884 - 1896 || [[Chretien Van Loon]]
|-
| || 1896 - 1919 || [[Florimond Buurmans]]
|-
| || 1919 - 1941 || [[Jules Kenis]]
|-
| || 1941 - 1942 || [[Jan Meeusen]]<ref>[http://janmeeusenvertelt.blogspot.be/p/waarnemend-burgemeester.html Jan Meeusen vertelt: Waarnemend burgemeester]</ref> <small>([[waarnemend burgemeester]])</small>
|-
| style="width: 3px" bgcolor=yellow | || 1942 - 1944 || [[Karel Goovaerts]]<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=5Hz1fDcLHPcC&q=oorlogsburgemeesters+40%2F44 Oorlogsburgemeesters 40/44: Lokaal bestuur en collaboratie in België] (p.333); Nico Wouters; [[Lannoo (uitgeverij)|Lannoo]]; [[Tielt]]; 2004; {{ISBN|90 209 57589}}</ref> <small>([[Vlaamsch Nationaal Verbond|VNV]])</small>
|-
| || 1944 - 1947 || Jules Kenis
|-
| style="width: 3px" bgcolor=orange | || 1947 - 1965 || [[Emiel Dierckxsens]]
|-
| style="width: 3px" bgcolor=orange | || 1965 - 1995 || [[Herman Suykerbuyk]] <small>([[Christelijke Volkspartij (België)|CVP]])</small>
|-
| style="width: 3px" bgcolor=orange | || 1996 - 2006 || [[Frans Schrauwen]]<ref>[http://www.standaard.be/cnt/dmf10102006_078 Nieuwe coalitie en nieuwe burgemeester]; [[De Standaard]]; 10 oktober 2006</ref> <small>(CVP / [[Christen-Democratisch en Vlaams|CD&V]])</small>
|-
| style="width: 3px" bgcolor=orange | || 2007 - heden || [[Gaston Van Tichelt]]<ref>[http://deredactie.be/cm/vrtnieuws/2.17375/antwerpen/Essen/1.1320073 Van Tichelt verdedigt driekleur]; [[deredactie.be]]; 7 juni 2012</ref> <small>(CD&V)</small>
|}
'''Legislature 2001 - 2006'''

A coalition was formed between CVP and VLD. The mayor was Frans Schrauwen.

'''Legislature 2007 - 2012'''

The previous coalition was rejected by the voters. A coalition was made between CD&V and sp.a. The latter party made an explicit condition to end Schrauwen's mandate as mayor.

'''Legislature 2013 - 2018'''

The mayor is Gaston Van Tichelt (CD&V). He leads a coalition consisting of CD&V and sp.a. Together they form the majority with 14 out of 25 seats.

'''Legislature 2019 - 2024'''

In the municipal elections of October 2018, there were some changes regarding the emerging parties. Open VLD and Piratenpartij did not emerge anymore and some members of Vlaams Belang tore off from their party and these emerged under the name "Essen's Belang".

The cartel party N-VA/PLE became the largest party by two votes over CD&V and the cartel went up 4.7%. As a result, N-VA/PLE gained one more seat than in the previous election and obtained one more seat than CD&V, which lost one seat. CD&V and N-VA/PLE obtained the same percentage of votes, namely 34.7%. sp.a retained its four seats . Vlaams Belang obtained two seats, one more than in the previous election. Essen's Belang did not exceed the electoral threshold.

The previous Roman-red coalition CD&V-sp.a was continued with a majority of 13 to 25 seats and N-VA/PLE ended up in the opposition. Gaston Van Tichelt again became mayor.

==== Results of municipal elections since 1976 ====
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:100%;"
! colspan="2" style="text-align:left;" | Party or cartel!! colspan="2" | 10-10-1976!! colspan="2" | 10-10-1982!! colspan="2" | 9-10-1988!! colspan="2" | 9-10-1994!! colspan="2" | [[Belgische lokale verkiezingen 2000|8-10-2000]]!! colspan="2" | [[Belgische lokale verkiezingen 2006|8-10-2006]]!! colspan="2" | [[Belgische lokale verkiezingen 2012|14-10-2012]]!! colspan="2" | [[Belgische lokale verkiezingen 2018|14-10-2018]]
|-
! colspan="2" style="text-align:left;" |Votes / Seats!! %!!21!!%!!23!!%!!23!!%!!23!!%!!25!!%!!25!!%!!25!!%!!25
|-
| style="width: 3px" bgcolor="orange" |
| style="text-align:left;" | <small>[[Christelijke Volkspartij (België)|CVP]]<sup style="color:red">1</sup> / [[Christen-Democratisch en Vlaams|CD&V]]<sup style="color:red">2</sup> / [[Christen-Democratisch en Vlaams|CD&V]] ESSEN<sup style="color:red">3</sup> </small>|| style="background-color:orange" |80,01<sup style="color:red">1</sup>|| style="background-color:orange" |'''18'''|| style="background-color:orange" |59,32<sup style="color:red">1</sup>|| style="background-color:orange" |'''16'''|| style="background-color:orange" |58,6<sup style="color:red">1</sup>|| style="background-color:orange" |'''16'''|| style="background-color:orange" |44,59<sup style="color:red">1</sup>|| style="background-color:orange" |'''12'''|| style="background-color:orange" |34,66<sup style="color:red">1</sup>|| style="background-color:orange" |'''10'''|| style="background-color:orange" |31,10<sup style="color:red">2</sup>|| style="background-color:orange" |'''9'''|| style="background-color:orange" |34,91<sup style="color:red">2</sup>|| style="background-color:orange" |'''10'''||34,7<sup style="color:red">3</sup>||'''9'''
|-
| style="width: 3px" bgcolor="red" |
| style="text-align:left;" | <small>[[Socialistische Partij (België)|SP]]<sup style="color:red">1</sup> / [[Socialistische Partij Anders|sp.a]]<sup style="color:red">2</sup> / [[Socialistische Partij Anders|sp.a]]-JijmaaktEssen<sup style="color:red">3</sup></small>||19,99<sup style="color:red">1</sup>||3||17,81<sup style="color:red">1</sup>||4||13,33<sup style="color:red">1</sup>||3||18,61<sup style="color:red">1</sup>||4||17,32<sup style="color:red">1</sup>||4||17,62<sup style="color:red">2</sup>||'''4'''||17,33<sup style="color:red">2</sup>||'''4'''||17,8<sup style="color:red">3</sup>||'''4'''
|-
| style="width: 3px" bgcolor="blue" |
| style="text-align:left;" | <small>[[Partij voor Vrijheid en Vooruitgang|PVV]]<sup style="color:red">1</sup> / [[Vlaamse Liberalen en Democraten|VLD]]<sup style="color:red">2</sup> / [[Open Vlaamse Liberalen en Democraten|Open Vld]]<sup style="color:red">3</sup></small>||-|| ||6,87<sup style="color:red">1</sup>||0||5,74<sup style="color:red">1</sup>||0||16,65<sup style="color:red">2</sup>||4||20,62<sup style="color:red">2</sup>||'''6'''||12,64<sup style="color:red">2</sup>||3||7,19<sup style="color:red">3</sup>||1||-||
|-
| style="width: 3px" bgcolor="yellow" |
| style="text-align:left;" |<small>[[Volksunie|VU]]<sup style="color:red">1</sup> / [[VU&ID]]<sup style="color:red">2</sup></small> <small>/ [[N-VA]]-PLE<sup style="color:red">3</sup></small>||-|| ||16<sup style="color:red">1</sup>|| 3||12,47<sup style="color:red">1</sup>|| 2||12,13<sup style="color:red">1</sup>|| 2||10,72<sup style="color:red">2</sup>|| 2||18,28<sup style="color:red">3</sup>||5||30,01<sup style="color:red">3</sup>||9|| style="background-color:yellow" | 34,7<sup style="color:red">3</sup>|| style="background-color:yellow" |10
|-
| style="width: 3px" bgcolor="#8b4513" |
| style="text-align:left;" | <small>[[Vlaams Blok]]<sup style="color:red">1</sup> / [[Vlaams Belang]]<sup style="color:red">2</sup></small>||-|| ||-|| ||-|| ||-|| ||9,23<sup style="color:red">1</sup>||2||12,21<sup style="color:red">2</sup>||3||7,85<sup style="color:red">2</sup>||1||9,6<sup style="color:red">2</sup>||2
|-
| style="width: 3px" bgcolor="green" |
| style="text-align:left;" |<small>[[Agalev]]<sup style="color:red">1</sup> / [[Groen!]]<sup style="color:red">2</sup></small>||-|| ||-|| ||9,86<sup style="color:red">1</sup>||2||6,71<sup style="color:red">1</sup>||1||7,45<sup style="color:red">1</sup>||1||6,02<sup style="color:red">2</sup>||1||-|| ||-||
|-
| style="width: 3px" bgcolor="white" |
| style="text-align:left;" | Other <sup>(*)</sup>||''-''|| ||''-''|| ||''-''|| ||''1,31''||''0''||''-''|| ||''2,13''|| ''0''||''2,72''|| ''0''||''3,2''||''0''
|-
! colspan="2" style="text-align:left;" |Total Votes !! colspan="2" |7304!! colspan="2" | 8157!! colspan="2" |8848!! colspan="2" |9262!! colspan="2" |10207!! colspan="2" |10568!! colspan="2" |10740!! colspan="2" |11226
|-
! colspan="2" style="text-align:left;" |Turnout % !! colspan="2" | !! colspan="2" | !! colspan="2" |94,89!! colspan="2" |93,94!! colspan="2" |94,15!! colspan="2" |94,70!! colspan="2" |91,26!! colspan="2" |91,6
|-
! colspan="2" style="text-align:left;" |Blank and Void %!! colspan="2" |3,93!! colspan="2" | 4,39!! colspan="2" |3,85!! colspan="2" |5,72!! colspan="2" |3,37!! colspan="2" |2,72!! colspan="2" |2,44!! colspan="2" |3,5
|}
<small>The red numbers next to the data indicate the name under which the parties appeared in each election.</small><br />
<small>The seats of the majority formed are in bold. The largest party is in color.</small><br /><small> (*) '''1994''': [[Partij van de Arbeid van België|PVDA]] / '''2006''': Vuurwerk !!! / '''2012:''' [[Piratenpartij (België)|Piratenpartij]] / '''2018''': Essen's Belang </small>