On LN24, the IPM group’s news channel, coverage of the elections will start at 7 p.m. this Sunday in a special program entitled Time to Choose: Election Special. The program will be presented by Nicolas Pipyn, face of First on the news. The journalist will be accompanied by Saskia Violette, his right arm who will regularly provide updates on social networks and what was said during the show and by Jim Nejman who will intervene several times to communicate the results. Also present on the set, Francis Van de Woestyne, editorialist for La Libre Belgiqueand Catherine Ernens, political journalist from Mosquito, will analyze the first results. During the evening, they will be joined by political scientists, specialists and politicians.
Four journalists will be sent to the headquarters of the largest parties (MR, PS, PTB and Ecolo) to bring the event to life from the inside. Two journalists from La Libre Belgique They will go to collect reactions at the HQ of Vlaams Belang and Engagés.
Once the final results are revealed, Nicolas Pipyn will be joined on set by Alexis Carantonis, editor-in-chief of The Last Hour/SportsDorian de Meeûs, editor-in-chief of La Libre Belgique, and a journalist from each of the two daily newspapers of the IPM group for 45 minutes of pure analysis. A late evening titled quite naturally The Closure during which the heads of the different editorial teams will reveal their front page for the next day.
Nicolas Pipyn, what are the big issues in these elections?
”We live in a country with complex politics that other countries sometimes don’t understand. These elections will allow us to see where Belgium is heading. Will she make a turn to the right with a potential coalition of MR and Les Engagés, a party which was announced to be brain dead a few years ago and which is gaining power in Wallonia? Will Ecolo be there? What will happen with Vlaams Belang which explodes in Flanders? It is a reality of our country. We cannot miss such a wave which was already shocking in 2019. Are we going to find ourselves in a complex situation like in the past? There is a lot of uncertainty, particularly with first-time voters and undecided voters.”
This is the first time that you are present at the election night presentation for a television channel. What does this represent in the career of a journalist?
”Finding yourself at the presentation of such an evening is the holy grail for a journalist. As presenter of First on the news, I had already received a lot of policies but it is not the same thing. The experience is very exciting because we feel that we are going to live through an important moment in the history of our country and that we are going to be watched by many more viewers than usual. But, there is also a lot of stress around an evening like this because you don’t know what to expect. A lot of things will depend on the results obviously, on the declarations that will be made, on what the journalists will report from the field. It’s a leap into the unknown.”
What is something extra that you will be able to bring to viewers compared to the traditional RTBF and RTL-TVi channels?
”We operate in a group where there is a lot of synergy. And, I think that’s our strength. On set, the professionalism of LN24 journalists will be added to that of journalists from the written press. This is real added value. We put all our strength into one and the same show. Another advantage: the show will be presented by journalists who are in their early thirties. This could attract young people, and particularly first-time voters, to follow the election evening on LN24.”
Here is what the Belgian TV channels are offering this June 9
At a glance at its Sunday program schedule, La Une sets the tone with a day devoted to the 2024 elections. From the news of 13 hours, the machine is launched. Following the newsletter, Nathalie Maleux and François de Brigode, duo of Thursday bonus, will go on air from the RTBF studios. In the afternoon, the pulse will be taken at several voting locations. For her part, Ophélie Fontana, presenter on 1 p.m., will be sent to the field to follow the progress of a ballot paper after the voting booth stage.
Following 7:30 p.m., Nathalie Maleux and François de Brigode will return to the air until the results are announced. Alongside them, Sacha Daout will provide figures for the RTBF election evening and present the results, Thomas Gadisseux will be responsible for analyzing them, in the company of experts from CRISP (Center for Socio-Political Research and Information).
Around twenty journalists will comment on the event from different strategic locations (HQ, etc.), in Wallonia, Brussels and Flanders. Among them, Quentin Warlop, Rachel Crivellaro, Laurent Henrard, Danielle Welter, Marc Sirlereau, Natacha Mann, Sophie Mergen, Rudy Hermans and Thi Diem Quach.
Trends can also be followed on RTBF Actus via a regional results system. The final results will be available early in the morning on the site but also in a special edition broadcast on VivaCité and on La Première.
Results and… Le Corniaud on RTL-TVI
On RTL-TVI, the festivities start even earlier, from 11 a.m., with The Belgian vote, an overview of the polling stations produced by Christophe Deborsu. Unlike RTBF, the private channel will not devote its entire post-midday news schedule to the elections. After the RTL Info 1 p.m. by Michael Miraglia, we will have to wait 5 p.m. to find the first results with Caroline Fontenoy. These will be followed by a special edition of the RTL Info 7 p.m..
Once again, RTL-TVI will make a parenthesis between these different broadcasts devoted to the elections. Viewers of the channel will, in fact, be able to relax while watching THE Corniaudclassic bringing together Bourvil and Louis de Funès, before taking stock of the results with Luc Gilson, at 10:05 p.m.
Eight teams of journalists will be sent to party headquarters. There will also be four mobile teams. On set, Martin Buxant will receive his guests in the newspaper’s studio while journalist Fred Delfosse will provide a regular update on the voting results throughout the day. Political scientist Pascal Delwit will also be present on set to analyze these.
And in Flanders?
In Flanders, like RTBF, VRT is devoting this Sunday’s program schedule to the elections. Wim De Vilder and Annelies Van Herck will guide viewers through election day in KIES24, a program which, although interspersed with midday and evening news, will start at 7 a.m. and end after the final results. The presenters will be accompanied by Ivan De Vadder, journalist who will carefully examine all the results and Aurélie Boffé who will closely follow what happens on social networks. Professor Carl Devos will also be present on set as an observer.
At VTM, the show From big Verkiezingsshow will be broadcast in the morning and early afternoon. The program, broadcast from VTM News in Antwerp and presented by Birgit Herteleer and Stef Wauters, promises “live coverage of the election, with results and reactions, guests and interviews, analyzes and distribution of seats, as well as live interventions from the Flemish Parliament, provinces and party headquarters”. At 9:30 p.m., Catherine Moerkerke will conclude this election day with an exclusive interview with the winner(s). Additional information will be given in the following program, namely the newsletter VTM New.
