Belgium's local elections, held yesterday, passed without any particular surprises and confirmed the results of the June elections for federal deputies and representatives in the European Parliament, the media in the country reported today, as quoted by BTA.
The Socialists maintained their traditional lead in the main cities of the southern Wallonia region and in Brussels. In the northern region of Flanders, several municipalities were won by far-right-led coalitions. New to this election was the lower voter turnout in Flanders, where suffrage was optional for the first time, with turnout falling below 60%. Political scientists predicted that this would benefit the far right, as their voters are more disciplined and do not take advantage of the opportunity to not vote.
So far, there is no evidence that the election was affected by Russian hackers' attempts at sabotage, although federal and municipal websites were temporarily taken down last week. Local experts rated these cyber attacks as "harmless".