Once the installation of the college was completed, the opposition also remained for the election of CPAS councilors which followed. While the count was awaited, Mayor Catherine Moureaux (PS) asked if, while waiting for the outcome of the vote, the council could move forward on the next points on the agenda. Points for which the opposition had not planned to gift its presence to a dispersed majority. They therefore left the council room, leaving the elected representatives of the majority, alone, without their quorum.
The mayor then warns: “We will wait for the result of the vote; however, I will not be able to announce it today. I will announce it next time since we no longer have a quorum. We are missing one (elected official). We will just note the result and proclaim next time. We will also convene a new council for the points that have not been dealt with, next week.
A gap of an hour
So things seemed clear. But… an hour later, Rachid Ben Salah, elected on the PS list, joined the council room, thus restoring the quorum. The session then seems to resume with the announcement of the results. “So we have our social action council,” announces the mayor and the agenda resumes on the following points which are therefore validated by the 23 elected officials.
L’opposition fulmine : “SIf there was a quorum, the meeting should have been adjourned,” summarizes Gloria Garcia Fernandez, leader of the local MR.
Surprise and nuanced apologies for the casting, challenge and “cry of alarm” for finances: here is the majority agreement PS-PTB-Molenbeek Otherwise
This Tuesday, the opposition parties (MR, Team Fouad Ahidar, Ecolo-Groen, Les Engagés) sent a complaint to the regional supervisory authority over local authorities to demand clarification on these “serious irregularities”. Their message notably includes the articles of law specifying that “the presence of at least half of the members in office to allow the validity of the deliberations”.
“After the vote on the CPAS advisors, the opposition decided to leave the session, thus resulting in a clear loss of quorum. Despite this situation, the session continued, in the absence of the opposition and without a valid quorum , to proceed with the counting of votes, which constitutes a flagrant violation of the rules in force. The legislation is clear: in the event of a loss of quorum, the session must be closed immediately. hammers home the message of the opposition which calls for the supervision of “verify the validity of the decisions taken during this session, in particular after the departure of the opposition and to clarify the legal consequences of this irregularity, in particular with regard to the continuation of work without quorum”.
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