The mayor of Saint-Josse-ten-Noode Emir Kir is urging the outgoing Brussels Government to set the date for the election re-run in his municipality. Last month, the local election results were annulled over fraud allegations.
Kir's Liste du Bourgmestre won the local elections in October with 50.5% of the vote – among the largest vote-share increases in the country. After "irregularities" with proxy votes were discovered, the results were annulled by the Court of Justice.
As Kir did not appeal the court's decision, Saint-Josse will have to organise new elections within 50 days of the notification of the decision (19 November 2024), according to Article 114 of the New Brussels Municipal Electoral Code.
This means the elections would have to take place by 10 January at the latest. Saint-Josse is aiming for 5 January (the last Sunday within that timeframe), but the Brussels Government has yet to confirm that date.
"It is unacceptable that the citizens are held hostage by a decision by the Brussels Government that is so slow in coming. We are asking for a date, not the moon," Emir Kir said in a press release.
As soon as possible
"The law is clear, the elections must be held within 50 days and suddenly, dates that are far-fetched, and above all outside the legal framework, are put forward," he added. "Out of respect for the inhabitants and for local democracy, the date of the elections must be set by the Brussels Government as soon as possible and in compliance with the law."
Kir stressed that the only reason he did not go to the Council of State to appeal the court's decision declaring the election results invalid was to avoid this period of uncertainty. "The elections were cancelled for more than questionable reasons. Well, let the government take its responsibilities."
At the end of November, Kir's office announced that all arrangements were being made by the Saint-Josse municipal council to ensure the legal deadline for organising the election re-run was respected.
The municipality has also mandated its advisors, Marc Uyttendaele and Anne Feyt of the UGKA law firm, to study and take all initiatives required "to guarantee compliance with electoral law" and the holding of elections within the time limits prescribed by law.
