Sint-Gillis-Waas regains majority as independent councillor joins coalition

The local government in Sint-Gillis-Waas has regained its majority after independent councillor Jan Van Puyvelde agreed to join the coalition led by N-VA and Meerdangroen. The alliance now holds 14 of the 27 seats on the municipal council.

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He approved the governing agreement and the multi-year plan, among other things.

The coalition lost its majority at the end of July, when councillor Luc Lorie left the N-VA group and continued as an independent. That left the governing parties with 13 seats. Although the other parties had offered to cooperate constructively, the administration sought a way to restore its own majority.

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My course from the beginning has been to support the good policy that was being pursued.

Van Puyvelde has supported the coalition’s policies since the start of the legislative term. Mayor Koen Daniëls said he had backed the governing agreement and the multi-year plan while still sitting as an independent opposition councillor. Van Puyvelde, who led Vlaams Belang’s list in 2024 before leaving the party, said his political course had not changed and that he had supported what he considered good policy from the beginning.

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The N-VA and Meerdangroen coalition has done good work over the past year and a half. They should be proud of that.

From December 2028, Van Puyvelde will also become an alderman, taking over from N-VA alderman Dirk Van Raemdonck. Daniëls said asking Van Raemdonck to give up his mandate was difficult, but described the decision as serving residents and political stability. Van Puyvelde said the future position was not the reason he joined the majority.

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It is not pleasant to ask one of N-VA’s four aldermen to give up his mandate, but if we want political stability, we have to consider how to achieve it.