New electoral decree complicates coalition-building in Antwerp

A provision in the new Flemish electoral decree is making it difficult to form a coalition in the city of Antwerp. Candidates have found a loophole in the system, highlighting the limits of the new law.

The updated decree states that the largest party or list only has the right of initiative to form a new majority and nominate candidates for two weeks after an election. If they fail to achieve this in that period, this right passes to the second largest party or list, and so on, until a coalition is formed. The aim is to make the political process more transparent.

This has worked well in many of the smaller municipalities in Flanders, most of which have already reached a coalition agreement. However, forming a coalition in just two weeks has proved much more difficult in larger municipalities and cities. Places such as Kortrijk, Sint-Niklaas, Ghent and Antwerp do not yet have a new mayor.

Limits reached

In Antwerp in particular, the limits of the new system are already being reached. Negotiators have said the two-week period is too short to reach a well-considered coalition agreement for a city of more than 500,000 inhabitants. The parties have found a loophole in the system to speed up the formation process.

When the N-VA's right of initiative expired, it was passed on to the second-largest party, the PVDA. The Communist party immediately passed it on to socialists Vooruit, who in turn passed it on to green party Groen. Groen also rejected the right of initiative and gave it to the far-right Vlaams Belang, which said it would make full use of its two weeks.

Vlaams Belang's efforts seem pointless, because the N-VA, which won more than a third of the votes in the city, has said it will only negotiate with Vooruit. This is why the other parties have not made use of their right: once all parties have had their turn, anyone can nominate government candidates.

Negotiations between Vooruit and N-VA continue, but they can only officially form a government after all other parties have exhausted their right of initiative. While skipping this right speeds up the process, it is not the intended use of the new decree and will have to be evaluated by the Flemish government.

^{#FlandersNewsService | Antwerp mayor Bart De Wever and councillor Els van Doesburg © BELGA PHOTO DIRK WAEM}