The Brussels municipality of Schaerbeek will be appointing Frédéric Nimal (DéFI) as acting mayor as its outgoing acting mayor Cécile Jodogne (DéFI) has been elected to the Brussels Parliament.
The elected mayor of Schaerbeek is Bernard Clerfayt (DéFI), but after he became the regional Current Affairs Minister, an acting mayor was needed and Cécile Jodogne took on the role. However, she must now be replaced as acting mayor as she was elected in the 9 June elections, where she was pushing the DéFI list for the regional parliament.
Frédéric Nimal, of the same party, has now been chosen as the municipality's new acting mayor. He will be appointed next Monday, as Jodogne will be sworn in as a Member of Parliament next Tuesday.
"Having been elected to the Brussels Parliament, Jodogne will take the oath of office next Tuesday, thereby losing her status as a member of the College of Schaerbeek," he explained. Nimal is currently the fifth councillor in Schaerbeek, in charge of Finance, Town Planning, Legal Affairs and Seniors. He has previously taken over the role when Jodogne was absent.
He will remain mayor for as long as Clerfayt is unable to resume his duties as mayor of Schaerbeek, for the same reason. During her term as acting mayor, Jodogne faced several challenges, from rowdy residents interrupting the municipal council meetings, culminating in a member of the audience verbally abusing her, to rising insecurities due to drug violence in several areas.
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Other mayors in the Brussels-Capital Region have been elected to become MPs, so they have to decide between handing in their mayoral sash or being sworn in. The City of Brussels Mayor Philippe Close (PS), who was elected to the Chamber in the federal elections, said he will not take his seat and instead remain mayor of the capital.
Ahmed Laaouej (MP and Koekelberg Mayor), Ridouane Chahid (MP and Evere Mayor) and Françoise Schepmans (MP and Molenbeek Councillor) face the same choice.
