French-speaking centrists Les Engagés called for an investigation following allegations that regional Brussels MP Ilyas El Omari (Team Fouad Ahidar) used a parliamentary staff member for private matters, as revealed by Bruzz.
The party called on Tuesday for the Ethics Committee in the Brussels Parliament to look into the matter. Leader Yvan Verougstraete responded to the allegations on social media.
"If these claims are proven, it's simply scandalous!" He emphasised that parliamentary members and their staff are paid to perform their parliamentary duties, not to serve private interests.
From the documents that Bruzz cited, the assignments that El Omari gave to the employee seem difficult to reconcile with those "requirements of the political mandate."
This allegedly included arranging invoices from his companies, making social security payments, arranging a sale of a taxi company car, subletting a property or opening bank accounts.
Empty Brussels Parliament. Credit: Belga
The staffer was even asked to find a manager to revive El Omari's failing butcher shop on Rue Blaes in the Marolles, as well as make orders for meat in public accounts.
The report also notes his limited parliamentary activity, for example, party leader Fouad Ahidar replacing El Omari for any political committees he sits in.
The Ethics Committee, established on 10 October 2024, comprises ten members elected by the Parliament for a five-year term, chaired by Brussels prosecutor Julien Moinil.
Recently, the Parliament reinforced the committee's powers, approving the new Code of Ethics, granting it a stronger mandate.
El Omari is the son of a butcher from Molenbeek, and an entrepreneur, who received 1,802 votes with Team Fouad Ahidar on the Dutch-speaking list in the June 2024 elections.
However, after over 600 days, a new regional government is still not in place in Brussels.
