Belgium's former Deputy Prime Minister Petra De Sutter won the Chancellor elections at Ghent University (UGent) on Wednesday alongside professor Herwig Reynaert. The duo, now Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor, secured a majority in all four voting groups in the first round.
In the professor category, the most influential bloc, De Sutter and Reynaert received 55.60% of the votes. Competitors Rik Van de Walle and Ilse Derluyn secured 39.91%. The professor turnout was high, with 79.94% of the 1,451 eligible voters casting their ballots. De Sutter emphasised the importance of this support, and said it was a significant boost.
Among the assistant academic staff, De Sutter and Reynaert garnered 75.45% of the votes, compared to 20.90% for Van de Walle and Derluyn. Although turnout was lower at 39.70%, 2,314 members of this group voted for the new duo.
The administrative and technical staff favoured De Sutter and Reynaert most, giving them 81.45% of the vote, while Van de Walle and Derluyn managed 15.95%. Here, turnout was 69.70% out of 3,040 eligible staff, with 1,726 staff members endorsing De Sutter and Reynaert.
Students also showed strong support for De Sutter and Reynaert, who received 72.33% of the vote. Meanwhile, Van de Walle and Derluyn only reached 25.99%. This group had the lowest turnout, with just 24.66% of the more than 41,000 eligible students voting, yet their message was clear.
Overall, 16,534 valid votes were cast at UGent. De Sutter and Reynaert achieved an average vote percentage of 71.21%, whereas Van de Walle and Derluyn finished with 25.69%. This decisive first-round victory aligns with the rules, and the duo will assume leadership on 1 October. The elections were conducted digitally and remained open for 28 hours.
