Saint-Josse-ten-Noode Election Re-Run Scheduled for February 9

Saint Josse-ten-Noode (Eurotoday) – The citizens of Saint Josse-ten-Noode will vote again on February 9, 2025, after officials annulled the October election due to irregularities in proxy voting. The political landscape features five active candidate lists with a total of 132 nominees, including the current Mayor, Emir Kir.

Residents of Saint-Josse-ten-Noode must return to the polls on February 9, 2025, after the original election on October 13, 2024, was cancelled due to flawed proxy voting procedures. A special election was mandated by the BRU court’s decision, allowing residents to choose from five lists and 132 candidates. Polling stations will be open from 08:00 to 16:00, ensuring the integrity of the electoral process amid previous concerns over irregularities.

The LB party won the October 2024 elections with an absolute majority, securing 50.5% of the votes. However, irregular proxy voting and allegations of electoral fraud led to an official investigation. Ahmed Mouhssin (Ecolo-Groen) commented,

“We found at least 300 to 350 problematic proxy votes.”

The Brussels Court of Law highlighted flaws in the proxy voting system, citing missing signatures, incomplete voting data, and the absence of valid certificates.

These procedural issues led to the annulment of the election results. Authorities determined that a re-vote was necessary to uphold democratic principles and prevent electoral manipulation. As PS alderman Philippe Boïketé explained,

“All three parties could have gained an extra seat, only we don’t know how the 300 irregular votes would have been distributed.“

The candidates for the re-election are:

• Engagés-cd&v-MR-VLD (led by Saïd Benhammou)
• ECOLO-GROEN (led by Ahmed Mouhssin)
• PS : Parti Socialiste (led by Philippe Boïketé)
• TEAM FOUAD AHIDAR (led by Ibrahim Dankus), with a list of 16 candidates
• List du Bourgmestre or LB (led by Emir Kir)

New and stricter protocols have been introduced to prevent the recurrence of past issues. Jonas Declercq, spokesperson for the regional administration Local Authorities, stated,

“Unlike October, when the municipalities trained the polling station chairpeople, the region provided its own training this time.”

He emphasized that additional checks have been implemented to scrutinize proxy voting.

Polling station chairs have received specific training to identify suspicious proxy votes and behaviors similar to those observed in the October election. Under the new system, only proxies registered as Saint-Josse residents can vote on behalf of others, ensuring accountability. According to the elections.Brussels website,

“Voters from other communes in Brussels or other regions cannot therefore vote on your behalf.”

The background of Saint-Josse’s election troubles

Saint-Josse is the only municipality in Brussels yet to form a municipal council after the October elections, making it a unique case. The ongoing legal disputes and the necessity of a reelection process have placed the municipality in an extended state of political uncertainty.

Additionally, beyond the Brussels parliamentary proceedings,

“A second investigation from the Brussels public prosecutor’s office into Emir Kir’s campaign is also underway.“

The accusations against Levent Kir involve alleged misuse of municipal resources for campaign purposes, including employing municipal communication advisors