Across the country people went to the polls yesterday to elect new local and provincial councils. These were the first elections in Flanders without any mandatory attendance at polling stations: people were not obliged to turn out and vote and that has certainly had an impact on the result. Flanders now also has its first far-right mayor since the war. Elsewhere many voters shied away from the extremes and mainstream parties were successful. These are the five takeaways from Sunday’s poll.
One in three Flemings stayed at home
The most striking trend of the 2024 municipal poll was clear from early in the day: low turnout in Flanders. About 64 per cent of Flemings bothered to cast a vote.
For the first time, there was no compulsory attendance of polling places in Flanders. A low turnout had been expected, but few had predicted that the percentage would be so low.
In large cities such as Antwerp, Ostend and Hasselt, the figure was even lower: there, 4 in 10 inhabitants did not bother to vote. The turnout figure fluctuates between 60 and 70 per cent, with outliers up and down. In Eeklo (East Flanders), for example, only 54 per cent voted, in Mesen (West Flanders) the figure was over 80 per cent.
First Vlaams Belang mayor but no massive scores for radical parties
In recent weeks major success had been predicted for radical parties like Communist PVDA and far-right Vlaams Belang in certain locations. On the whole these failed to materialise, says political scientist Carl Devos (Ghent University). ‘We had expected very high scores for Vlaams Belang and PVDA. But growth in their support is limited. You see Vlaams Belang increasing its support, but theirs are no massive scores.’
Four months ago Vlaams Belang was the largest party in as many as 143 Flemish municipalities. Today that is the case in 2 municipalities, the same number as in the previous local elections.
‘The party faced the challenge of making Vlaams Belang a party of (local) government. Entering government did not succeed in June. It would be a very big failure for the party, if it does not succeed now. We will have to wait for the municipal council formation process to see how things pan out.’
There is one big exception to this: Ninove In the first municipality where Vlaams Belang (Forza Ninove) won an absolute majority. Local leader Guy D'Haeseleer will become mayor. Also in Denderleeuw (East Flanders) Vlaams Belang polled well.
Communist PVDA did not make a quantum leap forward either, says Devos. Surely the litmus test was the party's score in Antwerp, where Jos D'Haese battled against mayor Bart De Wever. And there PVDA advances more than 11 per cent, but still cannot really threaten Bart De Wever’s Flemish nationalist N-VA.
Incumbent mayors hold their own
Many Flemings appeared satisfied with governance in their city or municipality. Many sitting mayors and coalitions scored well.
In Bruges and Roeselare (West Flanders) incumbent mayors kept a firm grip on the right of initiative. In Genk Flemish minister Zuhal Demir of N-VA posed no threat to outgoing mayor Wim Dries (Christian democrat).
‘The figures you see now show that local elections are really about cities and municipalities and that a lot of voters don't care what those people in Brussels say and do,’ Devos argues. ‘The fact that Christian democrat CD&V is doing well indicates that people are satisfied with how they govern locally.’
The same goes for Flemish nationalist N-VA mayors in Antwerp (Bart De Wever), Sint-Niklaas (Lieven Dehandschutter) and Hasselt (Steven Vandeput), as well as those of liberal Open VLD in Mechelen (Bart Somers), Kortrijk (Ruth Vandenberge) and Ghent (Mathias De Clercq). Even Alexander De Croo, despite lower figures, heads the largest group in Brakel council (East Flanders).
Flemish government parties do well
The three parties that recently formed the new Flemish government had a good election night.
Vooruit
Socialist Vooruit fared well in many cities. Leader Conner Rousseau spoke of ‘a red wave’ last night.
In Turnhout (Antwerp Province), the party suddenly takes the lead, with a score of over 30 per cent (and a gain of 16.6 percent). The same goes for Ostend, where John Crombez made a similar leap forward. In Leuven, Vooruit, with mayor Ridouani, was already strong, but the party has made further substantial progress. In Ghent, on the liberal mayor’s list the party takes more seats than its liberal ally Open VLD.
Less good news for Vooruit comes from Vilvoorde (Flemish Brabant), where the ‘Open VLD CD&V’ list can now take the initiative. Outgoing mayor Hans Bonte may have to hand over his mayoral sash to somebody else after 11 years in the job.
A good night for Christian democrat CD&V
CD&V holds firm in rural West Flanders and Limburg. The success of Vlaams Belang in June suggested that Christian Democrats would have to relinquish their leading position in rural municipalities. The opposite is true. The party says it is now the largest in more places, even gaining more absolute majorities than in previous local elections. This is the case, for example, in Westerlo, Wuustwezel and Pittem.
In addition, the party also remains in power in cities like Genk, Roeselare and Bruges. The CD&V also won the most votes in the provincial council elections in West Flanders and Limburg.
Flemish nationalist N-VA
N-VA remains by far the largest party in Antwerp. But it also retains the sash in other cities and municipalities. Sint-Niklaas, Hasselt, Lubbeek and Aalst will be governed by the Flemish nationalists in coming years.
The provincial council elections confirmed June's result. Both in Flemish Brabant, Antwerp and East Flanders, N-VA is the largest party.
Trend of the 9 June elections continues: ecologist Groen and liberal Open VLD lick their wounds
“The local elections came very shortly after the national ones and time was too short to reverse the trend,” concluded Groen co-leader Nadia Naji. The party lost many votes in cities like Leuven and Antwerp. They often flowed to socialist Vooruit. The party can take heart from a good performance in Ghent and the fact that the party is again the largest in Mortsel (Antwerp Province). Minister Petra De Sutter also scored well. In alliance with the N-VA, Ms De Sutter obtained an absolute majority in her home municipality of Horebeke (East Flanders).
For Open VLD the result isn’t as devastating as in June, but there is little reason for great joy. In Ostend, the party loses an important city and no longer has any elected members on Antwerp city council, Flanders' largest city. In Antwerp, the Liberals were only able to convince 2.3 percent of voters.
The party remains in power in Ghent, Aarschot, Mechelen and Mr De Croo's bulwark Brakel. It lost many votes in the latter two towns and the party no longer has an absolute majority. Taking the provincial council elections as an indicator, it is clear that the trend of the national elections continues: Open VLD was able to convince only 8.9 percent of Flemings.