The results of the October local elections in the Brussels municipality of Saint-Josse-ten-Noode have been declared invalid after fraud with proxy votes was uncovered by a Brussels court.
The elections in Saint-Josse were won with an absolute majority by sitting mayor Emir Kir's Liste du Bourgmestre with 50.5% of the vote. It was among the largest vote-share increases in the country.
Yet last month, the final results were questioned by leading figures from Ecolo, PS and Team Fouad Ahidar in Saint-Josse. They filed an official complaint on the grounds of suspected electoral fraud through proxy votes – where voters assign their vote to someone else when they cannot vote and is usually a person of trust.
Following the complaints, the Brussels-Capital Region judicial court launched an investigation into the issue. It has now decided to declare the result invalid, report various francophone media including RTBF and La Libre.
'Historic decision'
Team Fouad Ahidar's Ibrahim Dankus called it a "historic decision" and said that he had found "numerous irregularities" in the 13 polling stations, such as proxies with the same signatures that were not in order.
"Today I am pleased that the court has ruled in our favour. This is a victory for democracy, and we call on the residents of Saint-Josse to really make their voices heard in the new elections," said Dankus.
The court has reportedly made several clarifications. Firstly, the number of proxies was well above the regional average: 7.5% in Saint-Josse compared to roughly 1.5% in neighbouring municipalities. "Additionally, 350 proxies were considered problematic for various reasons," Ecolo leader Ahmed Mouhssin told RTBF.
Additionally, in one polling station a significant difference between the number of actual voters and the number of votes registered electronically was recorded, BX1 reports.
Mayor Emir Kir's list has seven days to appeal. If he does not, the people of Saint-Josse will have to vote again.
