At the first plenary session of the Federal Parliament since the election on 9 Jun,e MPs examined the question of whether the election was valid or not. The bone of contention is the fact that some 16- and 17-year-olds were able to cast votes for the federal and regional elections rather than only for the European elections, as should have been the case. Some parties have demanded a recount as they say that this could have had an impact on the election result.
Voting in Flanders, Brussels and the German-speaking Community in East of Belgium was affected by some 16- and 17-year-olds erroneously being issued with voting cards that allowed them to vote in all the elections held on 9 June rather that only for the elections to the European Parliament. 6 parties had lodged complaints.
These are the Francophone liberals, Team Fouad Ahidar, Voor U, Collectif Citoyenne and Transparence. They believe that they could have been disadvantaged. The parties were heard by 7 committee members on Thursday. After this the committee members met to discuss the validity of the complaints.
The committee dismissed the parties’ complaints and advised that no recounts should be held. However, it will a full plenary session of the Federal Parliament that will have the final say on Monday. It will only be once a final decision has been taken that MPs will be able to take their oath.
Recommendations
The committee members who dealt with the parties' complaints recommend that for future elections the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as the organisers of the elections, make adjustments to the procedures regarding voters under the age of 18 and Belgian voters that live abroad.
Another recommendation is that the part of the constitution that regulates the validity of elections should also be amended. In the past, Belgium has already been condemned by the International Court of Human Rights for allowing members of parliament to decide on the validity of their own elections. This recommendation is supported by the committee.