Dutch-speaking liberal party Open VLD has requested a recount of Brussels votes for the Flemish Parliament. The party lost a seat to far-right Vlaams Belang by seven votes.
"Given the extremely small difference in the result, it is only natural, in the interest of our democracy, that a recount should take place," party spokesperson Sam De Paepe told De Standaard. "There are even stories that votes were cast incorrectly."
The request for a recount comes principally from the fact that the remaining two seats in the Flemish Parliament came down to a tie between Open VLD (8,418 votes), Vlaams Belang (8,431 votes) and socialist party Vooruit (8,458 votes). The former therefore missed out on a seat by just 13 votes.
The liberals argue that seven votes transferred from Vlaams Belang to them – just 0.09% of Flemish votes cast in the Brussels-Capital Region – would have made all the difference regarding the seat in question.
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The party points to numerous mistakes made on voting day such as 16- and 17-year-olds voting in the European elections wrongfully allowed to vote in the domestic ballots in several municipalities. Although these were "exceptional cases", Open VLD believes there is enough uncertainty to justify a recount. The request has not yet been granted.
Open VLD experienced a historically low election result last Sunday when it received 8.3% (down by 4.8%) of votes in Flemish regional elections and 5.4% (down by 3.1%) at the federal level. This is despite having led the outgoing Vivaldi coalition. The party is likely to remain in opposition once the next government is formed.
