Flemish Parliament Rejects Request for Recount in Brussels
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Loading... - Mila Braun
- 03 Jul 2024
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Following revelations that thousands of under-18s had cast votes for the federal and Flemish parliaments—votes they were only eligible to cast for the European parliament—the Flemish parliament established a commission to evaluate the validity of the Brussels election held on June 9.
After thorough examination, the commission has recommended to the full parliament that a recount should not be held. They argued that a recount would not necessarily yield a more accurate result, as it is impossible to isolate and exclude the votes cast by under-18s. This recommendation came in response to a request from the Flemish liberals of Open VLD, who had sought a recount based on the paper ballots printed alongside the computer votes as a safeguard against errors.
The Flemish liberals contended that 13 additional votes would have secured them an extra seat in the Flemish parliament, a seat that instead went to the far-right Vlaams Belang.
The commission, chaired by Sofie Joosen of the Flemish nationalist N-VA, included six members of the Flemish parliament, who were selected alphabetically. Members elected in Brussels were excluded from the committee.
Today, the committee's conclusions were presented in a plenary session of the Flemish parliament, which decided against a recount in Brussels. The liberals have expressed their disappointment, maintaining that the current composition of the parliament will remain in question.
