Sunday's election in Schaerbeek was a nail-biter with PS finishing with a small lead over the joint MR&Les Engagés 1030 list, both winning ten seats. However, MR has just pulled a trump card out of its sleeve and will take the mayor's office.
As results came in on Sunday evening in the local elections, the race in Schaerbeek climaxed as PS and the joint MR-Les Engagés list neared the finish line neck-and-neck. PS came out with a slight lead, with 19.2% of the votes (or 9,285) as opposed to 18.2% for the joint MR&Les Engagés 1030 list (8,830). Both holding ten seats, but the head of the PS list Hasan Koyuncu claimed the post of mayor due winning more votes.
However, the head of the MR-Les Engagés list in Schaerbeek, Audrey Henry, announced on Tuesday morning that a new co-candidate – Sait Köse, a popular former Schaerbeek councillor who had campaigned on the 1030 Ensemble list (which won two seats) had defected and joined the MR-Les Engagés ranks as an independent. This pushed the list into the driving seat with 11 seats, making it able to claim the coveted mayor's role.
Henry has said she is now taking the lead in negotiations – meaning she will be tasked with trying to form a coalition in two weeks as well as claiming the mayor's office, RTBF reported.
Shuffling cards
In Schaerbeek, the political configuration resulting from Sunday's elections underwent a significant upheaval. Former Mayor Bernard Clerfayt's Liste du Bourgmestre was punished following its long reign, suffering a severe defeat that relegated it to fifth place. The PS came out on top with 10 seats and 19.2% of the vote.
On Monday, there were rumours of an alliance between Ecolo-Groen, PS and the Liste du Bourgmestre, bypassing the French-speaking Liberals in Brussels. This was an affront to MR, as it had agreed to cede to the PS in Anderlecht and Ixelles to obtain Schaerbeek.
In a bid to counter the PS "raid" in the Brussels Region. – the party organised a coup de force, managing to shuffle its cards with the new recruit, who was elected with 422 "name votes" on Sunday. According to Henry, Köse campaigned on broadly the same themes as the MR-Les Engagés list.
She will be inviting the four main parties in the municipality (MR, PS, Ecolo and Liste du Bourgmestre) to enter into negotiations. Team Fouad Ahidar and PTB/PVDA will not be issued an invitation.
However, Le Vif reported on Tuesday afternoon that Georges Verzin, head of the 1030 Ensemble list, has denied that his running mate joined the MR, adding that there was a misunderstanding of a statement. However, the list is in favour of MR and supports an MR-PS-List du Bourgmestre axis to form the Schaerbeek majority. For the French-speaking Socialists, the PS-Ecolo axis remains the first option envisaged in Schaerbeek.
The Brussels Times has contacted MR for clarification.
