Brussels (Brussels Morning) – Errors in Belgium’s electronic voting on 9 June persist, with 2,171 mistakes found, including 1,700 in Brussels. Most parliaments have declared the elections valid.
One month after the elections, the mistakes with the electronic voting on 9 June continued to stir in Belgium. In the five Flemish electoral districts where the College of Experts, the body that supervises the course of the elections, conducted a random sample, things went seriously wrong.
What Went Wrong with Belgium’s Electronic Voting System?
The situation is particularly serious in Hasselt. The most mistakes were made there of all the polling stations examined in Belgium. No less than 13 per cent of the underage voters in Hasselt were wrongly given access to the federal and Flemish elections. In the districts of Puurs and Lievegem, around 5 per cent of the 16 and 17-year-olds also received an incorrect ballot paper. In Zoutleeuw and Turnhout, the polling station staff were slightly more alert when setting up the electronic ballot papers for the minors. But mistakes could not be avoided there either.
How Many Voting Errors Were Found in Belgium?
In total, the College of Experts counted 2,171 errors in the whole of Belgium. The majority of these, around 1,700, occurred in Brussels. There, all electoral districts were subjected to an inspection. In Flanders, ‘only’ 399 errors were counted. But with only five Flemish electoral districts examined, that remains an underestimation. The actual number of errors could well be a lot higher.
Are Belgium’s Election Errors Impacting Validity Decisions?
Despite objections from several parties, most parliaments have now declared the elections valid. Only the House is still considering the approval of the elections. For the first time in this legislature, the members of the House are using a new procedure in which six different committees are given a week to thoroughly investigate the credentials of the new members of parliament and the complaints about the course of the elections.
These committees must have their report ready by next Wednesday. However, the chance that the House will be re-elected is extremely small. In a note to the members of the House, the clerk of the House has already stated that he sees no reason for this. In all probability, the six committees will also follow his advice.
What Steps Will Parliament Take to Address Voting Errors?
Nevertheless, the members of parliament did not hide their dissatisfaction with the course of the elections during the first session of the Chamber. “Simply moving on to the agenda would send a bad signal,” stressed Open VLD faction leader Katja Gabriëls. She insisted that outgoing Minister of the Interior Annelies Verlinden (CD&V) come and explain herself in parliament. Since the elections, Verlinden has mainly left the communication about the course of the elections to the Interior itself.
The procedure for approving the elections themselves also raised questions among many members of parliament. Just like other parliaments, they approve their elections. The Court of Human Rights has already reprimanded Belgium in the past because the members of parliament are both judges and parties in that procedure. During the opening session of the Chamber, various factions made a plea to have an external body judge in the future. Because an amendment to the Constitution is necessary, a two-thirds majority will have to be sought for this.
