This article will be continuously updated on election day.
The situation before 13/10 in Sint-Genesius-Rode
Burgemeester: Pierre Rolin (IC-GB)
Majority
IC-GB: 69.3 percent (18 seats)
Opposition
Engagement 1640: 30.7 percent (7 seats)
Participating parties on 13/10: Liste du Bourgemestre – List of the Mayor, Accent 1640, For Rode.
The French-speaking IC-GB list again achieved an absolute majority and even took a seat from the Flemish unity list Engagement 1640. Mayor Rolin’s second term of office started on a false note because Flemish minister Homans refused to appoint him due to possible violations of language legislation. when sending out the notices. Ultimately, Rolin was right before the Council of State, which meant that Nicolas Kuczynski was allowed to join the council of aldermen. In July 2022, former Prime Minister Sophie Wilmès also joined the council of aldermen, when she resigned as a minister in the federal government due to the illness of her (now deceased) husband.
Even more striking were the cracks in the Flemish unit list. At the beginning of the summer of last year, opposition councilor Anne Sobrie and several other council members announced that they would form a new movement, without the members of N-VA.
The French speakers were able to keep their ranks closed and once again came up with one list. It is no longer called IC-GB, but is called ‘Liste du Bourgemestre – List of the Mayor’, in their own words to avoid confusion. Mayor Pierre Rolin is again the leader, followed by aldermen Sophie Wilmès, Miguel Delacroix and Nicolas Kuczynski.
Accent 1640 is the new movement around opposition councilor Anne Sobrie, although councilor Jan Rombaut has been designated as party leader. The list also includes several outgoing municipal council members, several French speakers and former Agalev MP Lode Vanoost. The ‘For Rode’ list includes several N-VA members and independents. Councilor Bruno Stoffels draws the list, which also includes former councilor Ludo De Becker.
No one seems to doubt that Mayor Rolin’s list will again achieve a majority. The key question is whether he will be outflanked internally by Sophie Wilmès, popular within and outside the municipal boundaries. Although in facilities municipalities it is not the case that the most popular politician from the largest party within the coalition will always become mayor. In municipalities with facilities, the mayor must still be nominated by the municipal council.
It remains to be seen whether an opposition councilor (now Anne Sobrie) will again sit in the French-speaking council of aldermen. The division on the Dutch-speaking side means that the opposition parties may not have enough votes to be allowed to provide an alderman. Accent 1640 is resolutely aiming for an aldermanic position, although the list will need votes from both language communities for this.
This article will be on election day October 13, 2024 supplemented as quickly as possible with analyzes and responses.
