The East Flanders Public Prosecutor's Office has been informed of possible electoral fraud in the elections in the Flemish municipality of Ninove and has started an investigation.
Ninove is one of the municipalities in which voting is still done on paper.
"Within the framework of the investigation, no further information can be communicated," Public Prosecutor's spokesperson Lisa De Wilde told Belga News Agency. She could not confirm any details and could not say which party would be involved in the fraud.
According to a reliable source, the alleged fraud was established at the polling stations themselves on Sunday. The extent is still under investigation, but it was an organised form of electoral fraud. Suspects are in the picture but have yet to be questioned.
D'haeseleer denies
The list leader of the socialist green Vooruit-GROEN joint list, Stijn Vermassen, reportedly said that stories were circulating about Forza Ninove (the local far-right Vlaams Belang list) recruiting proxy votes among the elderly population.
Recruiting proxies in elections is punishable and can lead to a prison sentence of eight days to a month and/or a fine.
Even though he "hesitated," Vermassen did not file a complaint. The list leader for Forza Ninove, Guy D'haeseleer, denies these allegations: "absolutely no proxies were recruited."
In the meantime, several dozens of Forza Ninova supporters already gathered in a reception hall in the municipality. D'haeseleer hopes to get an absolute majority in Ninove and become the first Vlaams Belang mayor.
