2023-09-23 09:02:05
The Flemish Liberals were to elect their new president. Tom Ongena, who has been acting since the departure of Egbert Lachaert, was elected with 59% of the votes. As for Els Ampe, she slams the door.
Members of Open Vld, the Flemish liberal party, met this Saturday in a VUB auditorium in Brussels to nominate a successor to Egbert Lachaert, who left the presidency at the end of June. The verdict came around 1 p.m.: Tom Ongena was elected with 59% of the votes.
Some 700 members of Open Vld were present this Saturday for the election. Tom Ongena thus beat his competitors Vincent Stuer (29% of the votes) and Bert Schelfhout (11% of the votes). Ongena’s term is short until following the municipal elections from October 2024.
“We have nine months left to fight back.”
“We have nine months left to fight back,” he said in his victory speech. “The enemy is not in this room. The enemy is outside. The stakes are enormous for our party, but also for our country, for our society, for our future.”
Tom Ongena added that in his eyes, it is out of the question to collaborate with the extreme left or the extreme right. “We, liberals, will never cooperate with extremists. Fascism, racism and communism are irreconcilable with liberalism,” he assured.
Finally, the president-elect wishesand “reinvigorate” the parts in the coming weeks by “refining the organization” and he also wants his party to “reengage in the tradition of a party of ideas”.
The day is saved
The management of Open Vld thus managed to avoid reprimand. After falling out with Prime Minister Alexander De Croo (Open Vld), Egbert Lachaert announced at the end of June that he was resigning from his position as president. The party leadership then appointed Ongena as interim president. The initial intention was to have this nomination confirmed at a party congress.
With Stuer and Schelfhout as challengers, the holding of these elections was strongly criticized. Ongena was clearly the establishment candidate of the party and the campaign was extremely short. Furthermore, only members who went to the congress organized this Saturday in Brussels were authorized to make a choice.
“I say goodbye to Open Vld because it is getting rid of democracy.”
Unlike normal, it was not possible to vote online or in party branches.
Els Ampe leaves the party
The Flemish MP The Ampe, who has been talking regarding false elections in recent weeks, has announced that he is leaving the party. “21 years ago, I became a member of Open Vld and I was proud of it. Open Vld was then the only party to organize direct presidential elections. Today, these direct elections have been thrown out. the trash. It’s a shame.”
Elle Ampe adds: “I say goodbye to Open Vld because it is getting rid of democracy.”
The Brussels woman will run for the Flemish Parliament as an independent. “I feel like a liberation to freely and frantically defend the people I represent. A representative of the people is above all there for the people, not for a party.”
Who is Tom Ongena?
Born in Mechelen and aged 47, Tom Ongena is relatively little known to the general public. He climbed the ranks within the party one by one. He first served as spokesperson for Minister-President Bart Somers from 2003 to 2004. After which he served as spokesperson and political director of the partyduring the presidency of Bart Somers (2004-2009) and then Alexander De Croo (2009-2013).
After the 2019 elections, he entered the Flemish Parliament when Somers became number two in the Flemish government. Since 2020, he also serves as a Community senator.
Everything suddenly accelerated at the end of June when the president of the Flemish liberals Egbert Lachaert announced that he was handing over his mandate to the party. The next day, Alexander De Croo, as statutory vice-president, appointed him interim president of the party, while he found a successor to Lachaert.
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