Non-Belgian Brussels residents get a place in parliament
Consultation committee with drawn Brussels residents and their elected representatives
Wednesday, 4 December 2019 — From now on every Brussels resident will have a place in the Brussels parliament. Thanks to a new parliamentary consultation committee, consisting of ordinary Brussels residents and their representatives, we are opening up Brussels politics. A draw will be used to select 45 people from the whole of Brussels, who together reflect the diversity of our city. A draw among all Brussels residents older than 16 years. Also the part of Brussels residents who did not have a vote at the regional election, such as the non-Belgian residents of Brussels. #onebrusselsonevote
Today, the Brussels Parliament's Rules of Procedure comittee approved the proposal to create consultative committees between members of parliament and drawn citizens. The majority parties (one.brussels-sp.a, PS, Ecolo, Défi, Groen, Open VLD) received support from various opposition parties (Agora, DierAnimal, CD&V, cdH). one.brussels had in its election program a proposal to experiment with the concept of drawing citizens to activate democracy. Parliamentary fraction leader of one.brussels Fouad Ahidar:
"Today we are taking an important step towards a Brussels politics that represents all Brussels residents. Our region, our metropolis, is one of the most diverse in the world. Yet we have more than 30% non-Belgian residents of Brussels, who do not have the right to vote in the regional elections. We are going to draw lots from all Brussels residents over the age of 16 for this consultation committee to make the group truly representative for the whole of Brussels. One brussels one vote! "
With this consultation committee we want to provide an answer to the gap between politics and the inhabitants of the city. If more than 1000 people in Brussels want a topic on the agenda of a consultation committee, then this will happen. The drawn citizens, 45 in total, will discuss and debate this topic with 15 Brussels MPs. The consultation committee then draws up recommendations that the Brussels parliament should take into account. The first consultation committee will take place at the end of 2020.