Elections 2024: Female mayors to remain minority in Flanders
Female mayors will remain a minority in Flanders following Sunday's local elections. A woman will have the right of initiative to form a majority in the next two weeks in about 17 per cent of municipalities, public broadcaster VRT reports. In the previous legislature, around 19 per cent of municipalities had a female mayor.
Whoever obtains the most votes in the largest political group is given two weeks to form a majority. In only 48 of the 276 Flemish municipalities where this rule applies, that right of initiative currently goes to a woman.
In the Antwerp districts, a woman has the right of initiative in two out of nine cases. Of the 13 main Flemish cities, the right of initiative goes to a woman in only one – to Ruth Vandenberghe of Team Burgemeester Stadslijst Kortrijk-Open VLD in Kortrijk.
Nadia Sminate of N-VA, who gets the right of initiative in Londerzeel, did not expect such a low score. “This runs counter to the trend in parliaments, for example, where the number of women is becoming more or less equal to the number of men,” she told VRT NWS. “It does disappoint me.”
Political scientist Stefaan Walgrave of the University of Antwerp suspects there is a delay effect at the local level. “There are popular candidates and they are for historical reasons often men,” he said. “Removing a popular candidate to make way for a woman is a huge risk. As a result, the stronger presence of men continues for a long time.”
#FlandersNewsService | Ruth Vandenberghe ahead of the municipal elections © BELGA PHOTO JAMES ARTHUR GEKIERE
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