Saint-Josse municipal election results annulled

The Brussels parliamentary court has declared the results of the Saint-Josse-ten-Noode municipal elections invalid due to irregularities with proxies, meaning residents will likely have to return to the polls to vote a second time.

Mayor Emir Kir has eight days to appeal and is likely to do so, Bruzz reports, but in the meantime the court decision stands.

Incumbent mayor Kir won an absolute majority in the municipal elections that took place on 13 October, but the leaders of the Ecolo, PS and Team Fouad Ahidar parties filed a complaint for suspected electoral fraud, noting a large number of votes cast by proxy.

“We found at least 300 to 350 problematic proxy votes,” Ahmed Mouhssin (Ecolo-Groen) told Bruzz.

“Fifty of them were signed by the mayor and moreover on election day itself, 13 October. This is not normal.

"When the court sent the mayor a letter about this, he replied that he was not in the municipality on election day and that he did not sign those proxies. But there is no doubt that it was his signature."

Another set of proxy ballots were not signed at all, Mouhssin said, or the applicants did not have clear proof that they were unable to attend. Some of the votes by proxy were cast by municipal staff who do not live in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode.

“We found a striking number of proxies where the applicant said they were in Morocco or Turkey, but without an airline ticket or hotel booking as proof of that – did they all leave by car?” said Mouhssin.

Emir Kir was a member of the PS party until January 2020, when he was expelled for having links to the far-right Turkish Grey Wolves.

Key to the court case is the finding that Kir, as mayor, may have effectively ratified 50 proxies on election day itself, which is not allowed. Ibrahim Dankus (Team Fouad Ahidar) was barely 54 votes short of a seat on the municipal council.

The court has so far counted 116 proxy votes (including the 50 from election day itself) that are problematic, meaning the questionable votes may have influenced the composition of the municipal council. With a lower number of suspect votes, there would be less need for an annulment of results.

“It would have made a difference to Ecolo, PS and Team Fouad Ahidar,” PS alderman Philippe Boïketé told Bruzz.

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

In two out of 12 polling stations in particular, serious indications of irregularities were found, according to the court. Among them, a significant discrepancy was found between the actual number of voters at a polling station and the number recorded digitally.

Boïketé speaks of "chaos" at the polls, where voters were escorted to the voting booth by people who were not presiding officers at all.

Team Fouad Ahidar has called the annulment "a historic decision and a victory for democracy".

Kir’s team confirmed they are reviewing all possible manners of appeal.

“We are confident, strengthened by our 13 October victory and the support of the people,” a statement read. “Vox populi, vox Dei. The voice of the people is the voice of God.”

Besides the proceedings through the Brussels parliament, a second investigation from the Brussels public prosecutor's office into Emir Kir’s campaign is also under way.

“Among other things, he used the municipal website to announce his mayoral list, which is not allowed, and he used the municipality's communication advisor for his own campaign,” said Mouhssin.