Volt Belgium

Political party in Belgium
Volt Belgium
Volt Belgien

Volt België

Volt Belgique
AbbreviationVolt
LeaderCarlo Giovanni Giudice Johanna Dirlewanger-Lücke
SecretaryJasper Coosemans
Founded28 July 2018; 5 years ago (2018-07-28)
HeadquartersBrussels
Ideology  Purple
Website
https://www.voltbelgium.org/
National sections of Volt Europa. The borders of the European Union are shown in red.

Volt Belgium (short name: Volt, Dutch: Volt België, French: Volt Belgique, German: Volt Belgien) is a political party in Belgium. It is part of the pan-European party Volt Europa.

Policies

As part of the pan-European movement Volt Europa, the party aims to solve current challenges and issues such as climate change, migration and unemployment through closer European cooperation.[1] The party advocates for citizen participation and more transparency in politics.[2] The programme focuses on democratic reforms, climate change and the creation of healthy ecosystems, the strengthening of social and labour rights and the consolidation of the EU in both economic and foreign policy terms.[3]

European policy

The party aims to create a federal, united Europe. To do this, the party wants to strengthen the European Parliament and a European government and a European Prime Minister.[4][5]

Defence policy

In order to increase the efficiency of defence procurement, the party is striving for closer cooperation and joint procurement in the European Union.[6]

Transparency

The party is in favour of measures to increase the transparency of political processes. In particular, it favours publicly available data. It also calls for more commitment to fighting corruption and measures to regulate lobbying activities. It also proposes warning systems and infringement procedures to combat violations of fundamental freedoms.[3]

Immigration and asylum policy

Volt is in favour of a reform of immigration policy with a focus on integration that ensures "humane treatment.[3]

History

Volt has been active in Belgium since 2017 and was officially founded as a party on 28 July 2018.[7][8] The then 19-year-old Arno Sterck was elected chairman.[9] It was the first national section of the paneuropean movement to participate in an election. In April 2022, the party elected the German-French Johanna Dirlewanger-Lücke and the German-Italian Carlo Giovanni Giudiceneue as new party leaders.[4]

At its election congress in October 2023, the party chose Sophie in 't Veld for the Dutch-speaking electoral body and Suzana Carp for the French-speaking electoral body as its top candidates.[10][11]

In April 204, a previously independent councillor from Lebbeke joined the party, giving Volt its first mandate in Belgium.[12]

Elections

2019

The party participated in the 2018 municipal elections in Ixelles (0,58 %)[13] and Etterbeek (1,58 %),[14] and on a list with the local Pirate Party in Antwerp.[15]

In the 2019 European Parliament election, Volt only participated in the Dutch-language electoral college and received 0.48% of the vote.[16]

In the 2019 Belgian parliamentary election, Volt participated in the Antwerp constituency and received 1669 votes, representing 0.14 % of the vote in the constituency and 0.02 % of the vote nationally.[17][18]

2024

The party will take part in the European elections in the Dutch and French-speaking electoral college. Lead candidates are Sophie in 't Veld and Bram Vandeninden for the Dutch electoral college and Suzana Carp and Arslan Jurion for the French electoral college. The party will also take part in the national parliamentary elections and the regional elections in Brussels and Flanders.[19][20]

To be eligible for election, the party had to collect at least 7500 signatures. Due to errors in the system for the digital collection of signatures, the party complained about the flaws in an open letter in January 2024.[21][22]

Organisation

The party is led by a dual leadership of a man and a woman.[4]

Finances

For transparency reasons, the party has committed itself to publishing all donations exceeding 500 euros on its website.[23]

Volt spent 100 euros on social media advertising on Facebook and Instagram in 2021, and 250 euros in 2022.[24]

External links

  • Official website

References

  1. ^ "Pan-Europese beweging Volt ook in België actief". DeWereldMorgen.be. 2018-08-24. Retrieved 2023-12-29.
  2. ^ Reyners, Antoinette (2023-12-27). ""Volt", ce mouvement politique qui veut révolutionner l'Europe". La Libre.be (in French). Retrieved 2023-12-29.
  3. ^ a b c Dupont, Kevin (2024-04-16). "Qui sont les micro-partis Volt et Agora? Quel est leur positionnement politique?". Moustique (in French). Retrieved 2024-04-18.
  4. ^ a b c "Brusselaars worden partijvoorzitters van Volt". www.bruzz.be (in Dutch). Retrieved 2023-12-29.
  5. ^ Dupont, Kevin (2024-04-16). "Qui sont les micro-partis Volt et Agora? Quel est leur positionnement politique?". Moustique (in French). Retrieved 2024-04-18.
  6. ^ Lelong, Jorn (2024-04-10). "Deze zes partijen gaan straks weer de strijd met de kiesdrempel aan". demorgen.be. Retrieved 2024-04-18.
  7. ^ "Le parti Volt présentera des listes à Ixelles et Etterbeek". Édition digitale de Bruxelles (in French). 2018-07-29. Retrieved 2022-09-27.
  8. ^ "Jongerenpartij mikt op Brussel". De Standaard (in Flemish). 2018-07-29. Retrieved 2023-12-29.
  9. ^ "'Wij zijn de eerste echte Europese partij'". De Standaard (in Flemish). Retrieved 2023-12-29.
  10. ^ "Volt Belgium elects lead-candidates for the June 2024 elections". Volt België. Retrieved 2023-12-29.
  11. ^ "Ex-D66'er In 't Veld lijsttrekker van Volt in België". 2023-10-18. Retrieved 2023-12-29.
  12. ^ "Europese beweging Volt komt voor het eerst op in kleine gemeente, in Lebbeke". TVOOST - Regionaal nieuws uit Oost-Vlaanderen (in Dutch). Retrieved 2024-04-18.
  13. ^ "Élections communales 2018 - Résultats officiels - Ixelles". bru2018.brussels. Retrieved 2022-09-27.
  14. ^ "Élections communales 2018 - Résultats officiels - Etterbeek". bru2018.brussels. Retrieved 2022-09-27.
  15. ^ "Anvers: les résultats des élections communales 2018". Le Soir (in French). 2018-10-14. Retrieved 2022-02-09.
  16. ^ "Results in figures Dutch electoral College". 2019-06-04. Retrieved 2022-02-09.
  17. ^ "Ergebnisse in Zahlen Wahlkreis Antwerpen". 2019-06-24. Retrieved 2022-02-09.
  18. ^ "Ergebnisse in Zahlen Königreich". 2019-06-24. Retrieved 2022-02-09.
  19. ^ "Volt doet mee aan de superverkiezingen!". Volt België (in Dutch). Retrieved 2024-04-19.
  20. ^ "Candidates 2024". Volt België. Retrieved 2024-01-28.
  21. ^ "'Als nieuwe partij is het bergop fietsen'". tijd.be. Retrieved 2024-01-28.
  22. ^ Boileau, Clément (2024-01-28). ""Un obstacle au processus démocratique" : "Volt" face aux rouages numériques du fédéral". lavenir.net (in French). Retrieved 2024-01-28.
  23. ^ "Transparency". Volt Belgium. Retrieved 2023-03-22.
  24. ^ NWS, VRT (2023-01-11). "Politieke partijen geven recordbedrag uit aan advertenties op sociale media, N-VA absolute koploper (ook Europees)". vrtnws.be (in Dutch). Retrieved 2023-03-22.
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