Bart De Wever has been officially re-elected as chairman of the N-VA. He was the only candidate and received 96.8% of the vote.
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A total of 19916 valid votes were cast. That is 4,633 more compared to the previous presidential elections: an all-time record. “The large number of votes shows that our supporters remain very committed,” says party secretary Louis Ide.
Chairman Bart De Wever responds with satisfaction: ‘I will not deny that I am pleased that our supporters continue to support me after all these years. The massive turnout is also good. It shows that our members still feel involved. ‘
In order for De Wever to remain chairman, his party had to amend its statutes. Earlier in the fall, 93 percent of those present at a party council gave De Wever their permission to go against the party statutes and succeed themselves. In this way, the de facto choice for a successor to De Wever was once again put in the fridge. (According to the party statutes, a chairman of the N-VA is bound by the maximum of two terms. Bart De Wever has already been given an exception three times.)
In 2023, when his sixth mandate expires, De Wever will have led the party for almost twenty years. In 2004 Bart De Wever took over from Geert Bourgeois, who founded the party in 2001 after the breakup of the Volksunie (VU).
De Wever is perhaps the only one who can save his party at the moment from a harsh chairmanship struggle. If he had left the gap, Theo Francken might have applied. But the popular MP Valerie Van Peel would also have thrown herself into the fray, according to various sources. A battle between the right flank and more moderate flank may miss the N-VA today as a toothache.
You can find out about De Wevers’ new mandate here a podcast to listen. You can read a written analysis here.
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