The leaders of the Flemish nationalist party N-VA Bart De Wever and the far-fight Vlaams Belang Tom Van Grieken gained the highest number of preference votes in the federal and Flemish elections respectively.
Bart De Wever and Tom Van Grieken are the Flemish politicians with the most preference votes
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More than a quarter of a million people in Antwerp Province voted for Mr De Wever, who was the first candidate on the N-VA’s list for the Federal Parliament. Also a candidate in Antwerp Province, Tom Van Grieken got more than 150,000 preference votes, the most of any candidate for election to the Flemish Parliament.
In the European elections it was a Francophone, the former Federal Prime Minister Sophie Wilmès (Francophone liberal) that got the most preference votes of any Belgian candidate with 537.000 votes to her name.
The Flemish Parliament
The leader of Vlaams Belang Tom Van Grieken got the largest number of preference votes (more than 150,000) of any candidate standing for the Flemish Parliament. In second place is the Flemish Prime Minister Jan Jambon (nationalist) with just under 100,000 preference votes. In third place is the Christian democrat Flemish minister Hilde Crevits with over 77,000 preference votes.
The socialist Conner Rousseau is in fourth place with 75,000 preference votes. Jos D’Haese of the far-left PVDA is fifth with 66,000 preference votes. In sixth place is the nationalist Flemish minister Zuhal Demir with 65,000 preference votes.
The Federal Parliament
The Flemish nationalist leader Bart De Wever received the largest number of preference votes in the federal elections. With more than 255,000 preference votes, he leaves all candidates far behind. More than 20% of voters in Antwerp Province gave Mr De Wever a preference vote.
Second in terms of preference votes is the Francophone socialist leader Paul Magnette (PS) with 90,000 preference votes. This is just over 10,000 more than the leader of the Francophone liberals Georges-Louis Bouchez, who like Mr Magnette was a candidate in Hainaut Province.
In fourth place is the Flemish nationalist Theo Francken. Mr Francken got 73,000 preference votes. The outgoing Federal Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden (Flemish Christian democrat) is in fifth place with 65,000 preference votes. The outgoing Federal Prime Minister Alexander De Croo (Flemish liberal) is 9th with just over 60,000 preference votes.
The European Parliament
The former Federal Prime Minister Sophie Wilmès (Francophone liberal) amassed an impressive 537,000 preference votes. This is a record in Francophone Belgium.
Among the Flemish candidates Tom Vandendriessche of the far-right Vlaams Belang got the most preference votes (more than 300,000). The Flemish nationalist Johan Van Overtveldt was the second most popular Fleming standing for election to the European Parliament. He has more than 200,000 preference votes to his name.