The Flemish nationalist party, N-VA, announced on Tuesday that former MP Valerie Van Peel is the sole candidate for the party leader.
Candidates could register until Monday night at 23:59. Valerie Van Peel had already announced her candidacy in early March. No other candidates came forward.
N-VA members will vote on her candidacy in the coming weeks. The results will be announced on 26 April. A simple majority is needed for her to be elected party leader.
Valerie Van Peel was previously deputy leader of N-VA and did not run in the last elections in June 2024. She announced in 2022 that she wanted to leave politics, disheartened by "political manoeuvring" that led to the rejection of one of her proposals related to asbestos.
Despite this, she announced her candidacy for party president in early March. "It took time to overcome this disappointment," she explained. At 45, the Kapellen resident from Antwerp province felt she could no longer "stay on the sidelines."
Bart De Wever left the presidency, which he had held for 20 years, to become Prime Minister in early February.
Since his departure, MP Steven Vandeput, former Minister of Defence and vice-president of the party, has been serving as interim president.
