On Sunday, voters in Belgium elected new local councils across the country. ALDE member party Mouvement Réformateur kept its ground in the southern region of Wallonia. Open Vld maintained its force in the northern region of Flanders.

Particularly in a number of key cities, such as Ghent, Open Vld increased its support substantially. Party president Gwendolyn Rutten scored in her native city of Aarschot and is expected to become the next mayor, while the leader of the ALDE Group in the Committee of the Regions, Bart Somers, led his mayor list to a victory with an absolute majority in Mechelen.

However, liberals in the capital region of Brussels had more difficulty in maintaining their position. MR-VLD are now in opposition in Brussels City.

‘Gisteren zagen we een blauwe versnelling in gans Vlaanderen. Ik ben dan ook heel trots op al onze mensen die in de steden en gemeenten het verschil hebben gemaakt met een positief, ambitieus verhaal.’ @RuttenGwendolyn in het #kopstukkendebat pic.twitter.com/AkwOlRD7jE

— Open Vld (@openvld) October 15, 2018

A ce stade, nous décrochons 95 mayorats en Wallonie (94 en 2012) avec de belles surprises, par ex à Perwez et Péruwelz, et des résultats impressionnants à Courcelles ou Waterloo. En Wallonie, le MR décroche 66 majorités absolues, soit 9 de plus qu’en 2012https://t.co/F8KYL5qhsZ

— Olivier Chastel (@OChastel) October 15, 2018