16 of Brussels' 19 elected mayors take office

The majority of Brussels' newly elected mayors have taken the oath of office, apart from those of three municipalities: Schaerbeek, Saint-Josse and Koekelberg.

Schaerbeek still lacks a majority, new elections need to be organised in Saint-Josse and Koekelberg’s new mayor Olivia P'tito will not be sworn in for several days due to a lengthy administrative process, Bruzz reports.

Saint-Josse’s election of incumbent Emir Kir is under investigation for potential fraud and the results were annulled by the courts. Kir declined to appeal against the court’s decision, meaning a new election must be held within 50 days.

In Schaerbeek the PS and MR parties are still fighting for a majority, along with parties Ecolo and Défi.

But Bernard Clerfayt, Schaerbeek's outgoing mayor and the Brussels minister for local government, had to nonetheless proceed with the swearing-in ceremony last Friday for a number of mayors, both new and re-elected.

The event took place on the 32nd floor of the Iris Tower, the building housing many of the Brussels region's administrative offices. Normally it would take place in the formal halls of the Brussels government, but these were being rented out for a private event.

The swearing-in ceremony includes an oath of "loyalty to the King, obedience to the constitution and the laws of the Belgian people".

After the ceremony, each mayor was presented with a square of chocolate bearing the postcode of his or her municipality and permitted a short speech.

In their acceptance remarks, the mayors insisted on the importance of the communal level of government - "closest to the citizens" - and on their refusal to see the 19 communes of the region merge.

Many had held the office for years, or even decades, but new to don the sash are Alessandro Zappala (Evere/PS), Charles Spapens (Forest/PS), Romain de Reusme (Ixelles/PS) and David Leisterh (Watermael-Boitsfort/MR).

The re-elected mayors are Fabrice Cumps (Andelecht/PS); Sophie de Vos (Auderghem/DéFI); Christian Lamouline (Berchem-Sainte-Agathe/Les Engagés); Philippe Close (Brussels-City/PS); Vincent De Wolf (Etterbeek/MR); Jean-Paul Van Laethem (Ganshoren/Les Engagés); Claire Vandevivere (Jette/Les Engagés); Catherine Moureaux (Molenbeek/PS); Jean Spinette (Saint-Gilles/PS); Boris Dilliès (Uccle/MR); Olivier Maingain (Woluwe-Saint-Lambert/DéFI); and Benoît Cerexhe (Woluwe-St-Pierre/Les Engagés).

Of the 16 mayors present, only three were women, a proportion that mayor Sophie De Vos of Auderghem attributed to the fact that voters are attached to the mayor's personality and tend to re-elect him or her, and historically, there have been more male mayors than women, although this is slowly changing.

In addition to mayors, municipal councils for 17 of the 19 municipalities were also sworn in.

The installation of Koekelberg’s municipal council will take place on 6 December as a result of the delay of the mayor’s swearing-in. Likewise in Saint Josse, the results of the new election must come first.

Photo: Benoit Doppagne/Belga