During the Brussels underground campaign, ethnic targeting: “The parties know how to read the names of voters and deduce their origins”

Ethnic, or at least community, targeting remains an entrenched practice in certain campaigns.

Letters written in Albanian and French, the envelope of which shows an eagle with open wings (Editor’s note: present on the Albanian flag), were sent by Amet Gjanaj during the regional electoral campaign. The Molenbeek alderman indicates, step by step, how to vote for him once in the voting booth and presents himself as the defender “the promotion of one’s culture of origin”.

Contacted, Amet Ganaj assures “ having only sent around ten letters, and only to people who requested it in advance“.

Fouad Ahidar dreams of being the kingmaker of these municipal elections: “In Brussels, Anderlecht, Molenbeek and Schaerbeek, we are going to be a hit”

Ethnic targeting

Other voters of Turkish origin were sent letters directly in their native language. “It seemed strange to me that they were able to access my personal information and my origins without my permission”denounced Mehmet (assumed first name).

Simon R tells us this other fact: “I live in Schaerbeek, with my partner, who has a Moroccan-sounding name. He received a letter from the PS, asking him to vote for Jamal Ikazban, Hasan Koyuncu, Ahmed Laaouej and Ridouane Chahid. I didn’t receive anything. However, I live at the same address.”

These practices raise questions about how this personal information is obtained and used. In theory, political parties have access to municipal electoral registers, but these files do not contain information on the ethnic origin or mother tongue of voters.

“All parties have voter files and have community or communitarian approaches, which everyone will appreciate. Obviously, they know how to read people’s names and deduce their origins. The party stables are well oiled for that “, deciphers a Brussels mayor.

“If I take an inventory of all the Mehmets of Saint-Josse or Schaerbeek in the register, I am certain to address myself almost exclusively to Turks. It’s an old practice “, confides another source.

“Everyone is targeting voters. Écolo sends letters to first-time voters. In other parties, we target on the basis of the social notebook, points out a socialist tenor. And yes, campaign teams can, with time and method, target people to contact based on their name.”

However, within the Brussels PS, certain officials temper this approach, affirming that community profiling is a twilight practice. From now on, it is especially on Tik Tok and WhatsApp that the parties are trying to make a difference.

Notre investigation -> Immerse yourself in the disturbing underground Brussels countryside