Consultancy firm PwC warned the Home Ministry about potential flaws in the electronic voting system in April. This very system led to at least 2,171 voters receiving incorrect ballot papers in the elections on 9 June.
Belgians voted in three separate elections at the beginning of June: the country selected a Federal Government, Regional Governments in Brussels, Flanders and Wallonia, and also had their say on who would represent them in the European level. For the first time, 16- and 17-year-olds cast a vote in the latter.
However, a handful of the minor cohort were mistakenly given access to the federal and municipal ballots via the electronic voting system in the majority of polling stations across the country. A Board of Experts has since concluded that "it cannot be ruled out that the problem [...] has had an impact on the final distribution of seats in one or more elections."
It has now emerged that consultancy firm PwC, which has expertise in electronic voting, warned the Home Ministry about flaws in the system in mid-April. The report at the time stated that there was "a chance that the chairperson of the polling station would activate a chip card for 16- and 17-year-old voters, which would also give them unjustified access to the elections of the House of Representatives and the regional parliaments."
'Human error'
The report, seen by De Standaard, urged the government to take "compensatory measures" to mitigate these shortfalls. The Home Ministry says it acted on the advice and took steps to distinguish between minors and other voters on the day, such as by handing out different coloured envelopes in the voting station upon arrival.
The Board of Experts tested all districts in Brussels and Wallonia and a sample of five in Flanders, which showed that at least 2,171 voters were affected. A spokesperson told De Standaard that the system's failures came down to "human error" on the day.
Open VLD has repeatedly called for a recount of the Flemish regional ballot. The liberals experienced one of their worst-ever performances this time round, taking home just 5.4% of the votes federally and 8.3% regionally. Their request comes following the discovery that they lost out on one seat by just 13 votes.
Meanwhile, Team Fouad Ahidar has called for a recount in Brussels on the back of the Board of Expert's report, citing "human error" as potentially costing the party several hundred votes.
