6 Belgo-Moroccans Elected to Belgium’s House of Representatives

The lower house of the Belgian Parliament is seen during its plenary session  (Reuters)
The lower house of the Belgian Parliament is seen during its plenary session (Reuters)
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6 Belgo-Moroccans Elected to Belgium’s House of Representatives

The lower house of the Belgian Parliament is seen during its plenary session  (Reuters)
The lower house of the Belgian Parliament is seen during its plenary session (Reuters)

Six Belgians of Moroccan origin were elected to the Belgian House of Representatives during the federal, regional, and European elections held in Belgium on Sunday, Moroccan News Agency (MAP) reported.

The newly-elected deputies are: co-president of environmental party Ecologist Francophone (Ecolo) Zakia Khattabi, president of the Socialist Francophone Group in the lower chamber Ahmed Laaouej, president of Flemish-Socialist Group of the same chamber (Spa) Meriam Kitir, member of Belgian Labour Party (PTB) Nabil Boukili, and members of the Democratic Christian Flemish Party (CD&V) Nahima Lanjri and Nawal Farih.

Some 20 Belgo-Moroccan deputies were elected to regional parliaments: 15 in the Parliament of Brussels, three in the Parliament of the Wallonia, and three in the Flemish Parliament.

Left-wing Francophone and Green Parties nominated in Brussels the more commonly known as “diversity” candidates, and to a lesser extent in Wallonia and on average among the “Flemish Socialists” and “Democratic Christians” in the northern Flemish region.

The legislative and regional elections resulted in a major victory for the far-right Vlaams-Belang party in the northern Flemish region. In Brussels and Wallonia, the Socialist Francophone Party ranked first.

The Belgian monarch Philippe began consultations Sunday to form the government, which appear to be difficult after the far-right victory, which gained 18 seats in Sunday’s elections in the lower house after it had 3 seats in the previous elections.



New Hampshire Hamlet Tied in First US Election Day Votes

Ballots are counted in the US election at midnight in the living room of the Tillotson House at the Balsams Grand Resort, marking the first votes in the US election, in Dixville Notch, New Hampshire on November 5, 2024. (AFP)
Ballots are counted in the US election at midnight in the living room of the Tillotson House at the Balsams Grand Resort, marking the first votes in the US election, in Dixville Notch, New Hampshire on November 5, 2024. (AFP)
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New Hampshire Hamlet Tied in First US Election Day Votes

Ballots are counted in the US election at midnight in the living room of the Tillotson House at the Balsams Grand Resort, marking the first votes in the US election, in Dixville Notch, New Hampshire on November 5, 2024. (AFP)
Ballots are counted in the US election at midnight in the living room of the Tillotson House at the Balsams Grand Resort, marking the first votes in the US election, in Dixville Notch, New Hampshire on November 5, 2024. (AFP)

Voters in the US hamlet of Dixville Notch launched Election Day in the first minutes of Tuesday with a tied vote, mirroring the incredibly close national polls in the White House race.

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump each got three ballots in the tiny community in the northeastern state of New Hampshire which for decades has kicked off Election Day at the stroke of midnight Monday -- hours before the rest of the country's polling stations open.

The Democratic vice president and Republican ex-president have been battling in a tense and exceptionally close race, with opinion polls largely tied.

To a gathered crowd of journalists, the vote opened with a rendition of the US national anthem performed on an accordion.

Electoral laws in New Hampshire allow municipalities with fewer than 100 residents to open their polling stations at midnight and to close them when all registered voters have fulfilled their civic duty.

Dixville Notch's residents voted unanimously for then candidate Joe Biden in 2020, reportedly only the second presidential hopeful to get all the votes since the midnight voting tradition began in 1960.

Most polling stations on the East Coast will open at 6:00 or 7:00 am (1100 or 1200 GMT) on Tuesday.

Dixville Notch voters handed a surprise unanimous victory to Republican White House hopeful Nikki Haley in New Hampshire's primary in January.

Haley ultimately quit the race due to an insurmountable Trump lead -- but Tuesday's vote shows that three voters opted not to back the billionaire in the general election.