Will Flemish Parliament declare elections valid or order revote in Brussels?

Traditionally, during the first session of a new Flemish Parliament, each new MFP takes the oath. This happens under a temporary president, who is elected today, but traditionally that role goes to the Flemish member of parliament with the most seniority, in this case Filip Dewinter (far right/Vlaams Belang). He is flanked by the two youngest members of the Flemish parliament.

But there is more to be done today than just the formal part. The Flemish Parliament also has to decide whether the votes cast in Brussels are valid or whether a recount is needed, as the Flemish liberals of Open VLD have requested.

The request was made after it emerged that thousands of minors were reportedly able to vote for the Flemish and federal parliaments on 9 June and not just for the European parliament as is their right.

The greens and the PVDA Labour Party also support a recount.

How will the complaint be dealt with?

In Belgium, all parliaments approve the validity of their own elections. Normally this is dealt with quickly, but now that there is a complaint, a procedure will be initiated.

A report has been drawn up by the registrar and distributed among all new MFPs as well as among those who lodged an objection. The complainants can add comments and these comments will be added to the report.

Today, it is up to the plenary session of parliament to rule on that report. If the plenary decides that the elections are valid, it stops there. If irregularities are found, a committee is set up to look into it further.

That commission - made up of seven random MPs who were not elected in the constituency where the problem arose - decides whether or not to declare the elections valid after discussing the matter with the people who filed the objection.

Fresh election in Brussels?

There are 3 options: either there are no problems, a recount has to be done, or the election is declared null and void. That decision is communicated to the plenary, which then makes a final decision on the validity of the votes. 

If the Brussels vote is annulled, it could go 2 ways, says UGent constitutional expert Toon Moonen. "Without new elections, the Flemish Parliament would have to continue for 5 years with 118 Flemish MPs instead of 124 as the MFPs elected in Brussels would be excluded. That would mean the people of Brussels would not be represented." That violates the constitution and is democratically an undesirable situation, the constitutional expert believes.

Another option is for fresh elections. That too is not easy. "There is no legal provision for this situation. Normally, the election for the Flemish parliament happens together with the election of the Brussels parliament. That has already declared its election valid. Since the authorities cannot invite only Dutch-speaking Brussels residents to revote, everyone in the Brussels constituency would have to cast a vote for the Flemish Parliament."

Still, according to constitutional experts, a re-vote should not be ruled out. "New legislation can be brought in, though that will also take time," explains UAntwerpen constitutional expert Patricia Popelier. "A choice has to be made between 2 difficult situations, but perhaps we should look at whether elections can again be organised as much as possible in line with existing laws," Moonen suggests.

Of course, it's quite possible the Flemish Parliament sees no problems in how the 9 June elections were conducted and endorses the result.