Local elections: first-ever joint list of French- and Dutch-speaking Greens in Wallonia

The green parties Ecolo and Groen are submitting a joint electoral list in the upcoming municipal elections in Beauvechain, Walloon Brabant. This is the first time that the French- and Dutch-speaking Greens are presenting themselves to voters in Wallonia under the same banner.

Beauvechain, called Bevekom in Dutch, is currently governed by Beauvechain Ensemble, an alliance between the parties PS, MR and cdH, as Les Engagés was called in the previous elections. The list of the electoral alliance has a comfortable absolute majority.

Ecolo became the second party in 2018, with 19.74 per cent of the vote. This time, Ecolo wants to score better, with a broad list under the banner Ecolo-Groen.

The list will be headed by Siska Gaeremyn, who is of Flemish origin. “In our villages, about one in four inhabitants is Dutch-speaking,” she said. “We want to actively involve Flemish and mixed families here in the life of our municipality.”

Dutch-speaker Steven De Winter is fourth on the list. “We don't want to ‘Flemishise’ the municipality,” he said. “Beauvechain remains a rural Walloon town. But with this list, we want to create an inclusive and innovative political dynamic.”

Groen’s party leadership confirmed that this is the first move of its kind in Wallonia, though there has been "cooperation between the two parties for some time, for example in the Chamber and in Brussels.”

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