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🇧🇪 Belgium /Elections & Politics

Eeklo opposition calls emergency council meeting over alleged misconduct by city leaders

From VRT NWS · () Dutch

Translated from Dutch and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Opposition parties in Eeklo have called an emergency municipal council meeting for Sept. 15 over allegations of toxic and abusive conduct by the city’s mayor and aldermen.
  • Mayor Koen Loete denies all accusations, while a city confidant reportedly accused him of lying in an email to staff.
  • The opposition is seeking an independent external audit and a vote of confidence, saying this is the third time it has made the request.

Eeklo’s opposition parties are calling an emergency municipal council meeting over allegations of misconduct within the city administration. The meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 15, after several city employees told VRT NWS about what they described as continuing toxic behavior by Mayor Koen Loete and aldermen.

If they have nothing to hide, they should not fear an external audit.

· Opposition parties in EekloThe opposition used the statement while calling for an independent external audit of the city administration.

Loete, of #TEAM9900, denies all the accusations. A confidential adviser to the city then circulated an email saying that the mayor was lying. Opposition parties Durf! and Vlaams Belang had already called for a fully independent investigation. They are now bringing the dispute before the council for the third time, seeking an external audit and a confidence vote.

“There is no trust left,” said Luc Vandevelde of Durf!. “We want clarity. If even the confidential adviser is talking about lies, the truth must now come out. And every council member must look in the mirror. They also know everything.”

There is no trust left.

· Luc VandeveldeThe Durf! politician explained why the opposition was seeking an emergency council meeting and confidence vote.

Independent N-VA councillor Cindy De Waegenaere argued that the administration should welcome an audit if it has nothing to conceal. “If they have nothing to hide, what do they have against an external audit?” she said. “Then the truth will come to light, and perhaps names will be mentioned. And if it turns out that nothing happened, they will simply be cleared. I would support such an audit if I had a clear conscience.”

If they have nothing to hide, what do they have against an external audit?

· Cindy De WaegenaereThe independent N-VA councillor argued that an audit could clear the administration if no wrongdoing was found.

Jens De Pauw of Vlaams Belang called for additional accountability. He said anyone who committed intimidation, threats, discrimination, sexist remarks or encouraged people to bypass rules should “look at themselves and resign.”

Anyone who committed intimidation, threats, discrimination, sexist remarks or encouraged people to bypass rules should look at themselves and resign.

· Jens De PauwThe Vlaams Belang councillor called for resignations if those allegations were substantiated.
About this summary

Originally published by VRT NWS in Dutch. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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