QA few months after the federal and regional elections, the municipal elections took place this Sunday, October 13. With surprises but above all confirmations and concerns.
Wallonia
In Wallonia, all eyes were mainly on Monswhere the Martin-Bouchez duel has the air of a final struggle between the PS and the MR. The final results show a maintenance of the PS (44.6%), far ahead of the list of Georges-Louis Bouchez (Mons better, 28.7%). Expectations were also high Charleroi which is about to end the Paul Magnette era and where Thomas Dermine could take up the torch: the PS leads the almost complete results with 43.7%, the MR peaks at 19%, the PTB at 17.6%; has Liège where Willy Demeyer (PS), big winner of the preference votes, should retain his mayorship. Its PS+ list slows down a little but remains in the lead with 29.4%, ahead of the MR at 20.2%; has Namurthe city of Maxime Prévot, great architect of the renewal of the Engagés, the mayor’s victory is clear with more than 43%; or even to Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve where Ecolo will lose his mayorship to IC-Impulsion C.
All results in Wallonia.
Bruxelles
This is the big surprise of the Brussels election so far: Schaerbeekthe Mayor’s List led by Bernard Clerfayt (Défi) suffered a dizzying fall. With 12.6% of the votes, the LB finds itself in 5e position recording a decline of almost 20 percentage points compared to 2018. It is the PS which comes in first with 19.2% of the votes ahead of the MR-Engagés tandem, 18.3% of the votes and Ecolo 17.6 %. Also note the 13.2% of the PTB and the 8.5% of Team Fouad Ahidar. For Défi, the decline is marked in almost all the Brussels municipalities where the party presented itself, including in Woluwe-Saint-Lambert where Olivier Maingain, if he remains in first place, loses nearly 14 percentage points.
Elsewhere in the capital, the results City of Brussels are favorable to the outgoing mayor Philippe Close. The PS is stable (28.1%) but a large leader ahead of the MR (21.2%), which is growing strongly, and the PTB (13.4%) while Ecolo is declining (13%). HAS Ixellesthe outgoing mayor Christos Doulkeridis (Ecolo) keeps the lead: the Greens with 28.4% of the votes are just ahead of the MR which is at 27.7%. The PS, the outgoing majority partner, completes the podium with 19.6% of the votes. HAS Molenbeekthree parties are in a tight spot: with the socialist left, PS-Vooruit, which obtains 23.1% of the votes, ahead of the far left of the PTB-PVDA, at 22.2%, and the MR, 17, 1%. Highly anticipated, the Fouad team is credited with 14.6% of the votes. These results show an almost mathematically unavoidable PS-PTB coalition, which should expand to the Greens and/or Team Fouad Ahidar, according to Catherine Moureaux, mayor in office. HAS Saint-Jossethe ex-socialist Emir Kir remains all-powerful. He again obtained an absolute majority with more than 50% of the votes.
All results in Brussels
Flanders
In Flanders, the main shock came from Ninove where, with 47.4%, the “Forza Ninove” list of Vlaams Belang obtains an absolute majority of seats: 18 out of 35, enough to be able to seize the mayorate without a partner. A first for the Belgian far right. Guy D’haeseleer increased his score compared to 2018, with 8,552 preference votes, well ahead of the other candidates. Note that the East Flanders public prosecutor’s office was informed of possible electoral fraud in Ninove and decided to open an investigation.
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