With the exception of Saint-Josse-ten-Noode (where voters will have to go to the ballot boxes again soon), Schaerbeek is the only municipality in the Brussels-Capital Region that has missed the deadline for a new ruling coalition to be sworn in.
Municipal law stipulates that new municipal councils in Brussels must be installed and take the oath by 7 December at the latest. In Schaerbeek, however, the authorities decided months ago that the new municipal council would be installed on 1 December.
"Of course, this decision was made before we knew that the local election results would make it so difficult to find a coalition," Quentin van den Hove (Open VLD), Schaerbeek municipal councillor and deputy mayor, told The Brussels Times.
Since the municipal secretary must receive the new councillors' nominations three days in advance, the deadline to find a new coalition and appoint all councillors was technically on 27 November at midnight – which they missed. "Therefore, the previous municipal council will be sworn in again on Sunday," Van den Hove said.
In current affairs
"Talks are continuing, but in any case, we will not have a new municipal council on Sunday," he explained, adding that it could still take "quite a long time" before an agreement is found.
To make sure the municipality does not go without a council, a structure much like the one in place for the Federal Government is provided: until a new majority is found, the current administration team continues its mandate as a sort of council "in current affairs."
In Schaerbeek, the current acting mayor Frédéric Nimal (Défi) and municipal councillors Vincent Vanhalewyn (Ecolo), Deborah Lorenzino (Défi), Thomas Eraly (Ecolo) and Quentin van den Hove (Open VLD) will again take the oath in early December.
Ibrahim Donmez (left) and Yildiz Yusuf celebrate the results of Schaerbeek's French-speaking Socialist Party PS, on the evening of the local elections on Sunday 13 October 2024. Credit: Belga / Bruno Fahy
The competencies of the non-re-elected councillors will be divided among them, but temporary others might also be appointed if needed. Unlike the Federal Government in current affairs, the council will retain its ability to make decisions. However, it will also be easier for its members to reject them as the current coalition no longer has a majority.
If a majority is ultimately found, the next municipal council will decide on the new distribution of the mayoral office and municipal councillors' posts.
What is happening?
Which possible coalitions are currently being discussed in Schaerbeek is unclear.
The ruling majority before the elections was made up of the Liste du Bourgmestre (which were mainly DéFI members) and Ecolo-Groen, but the elections were won by PS (19.2%) and the joint MR&Les Engagés 1030 (18.2%) list.
Talks were at a standstill for a while, partly due to the MR&Les Engagés list's reluctance to consider the possible mayoralty of PS leader Hasan Koyuncu. In the meantime, discussions have resumed.
