An extended investigation into fraud in Belgian local elections

The Public Prosecution Service in Flanders is expanding its investigation into possible fraud in local elections to at least ten municipalities. This is evident from a walk around VRTthe Flemish public broadcaster.

Shortly after the elections two weeks ago, the public prosecutor’s office announced that it would investigate the possible ‘recruitment’ of deputies in Ninove, west of Brussels. Now the municipalities of Brakel, Turnhout, Veurne, Alken, Dilbeek, Koekelare and two cities in the Leuven region have been added. The Public Prosecution Service has not said which municipalities in Leuven these are.

When you vote by proxy, someone in your place of residence goes to the polling station on your behalf, because you can’t vote because of work or illness, for example. According to the law, people have to take their own initiative to find a replacement.

It is not allowed to hire proxies, where people are actively and systematically approached. But according to political scientists, the rules are not clear. It is encouraged to inform people about the possibility of voting by proxy.

In Turnhout and Veurne, the opposition parties complained about actions by the mayors. For example, the mayor of Turnhout Van Miert added proxies to his party leaflets and offered a free shuttle service to the polling station.

In Veurne, Mayor Roose sent out personal letters with proxy forms. The letter explained how people could vote through a medical certificate using the attached form. “Please let us know when we need to collect this along with your registration card,” the letter said.

In Koekelare, the opposition party Team 8680 noticed that voting by proxy was very common: reportedly 7 percent of the votes were not cast by the voters themselves. But these opposition parties did not file a formal complaint.

The public prosecutor’s office is now investigating whether there was recruitment. Complaints from the towns of Hasselt and Gavere have been submitted to the Council for Electoral Disputes. The question remains whether this will have any effect on the results of the election. The judge may impose a fine or other punishment. Only in serious cases of fraud can the election result be set aside by the Electoral Disputes Council.