Saint-Josse-ten-Noode: densest municipality, re-elections

Belgium's densest municipality

Saint-Josse-ten-Noode is the smallest (1.16 km²) and densest municipality in Belgium (~23,185 inhabitants/km²). After the annulment of the October 2024 elections due to irregularities (proxy voting), a new vote was held on 9 February 2025. Emir Kir (independent, ex-PS) reinforced his absolute majority to 18/29 seats (55.6%).

Transparency: 3 out of 6 criteria

The budget is published online, the council has been broadcast via livestream on YouTube since 2018, and the mandate registry is accessible. Council minutes are partial (publication delays reported), citizen participation is limited to advisory councils, and there is no Open Data portal.

Financial crisis and coercive supervision

Saint-Josse is going through a financial crisis. The regional government reports a cumulative deficit of over EUR 30 million (2025 financial year), an amount contested by the mayor, who puts it at around EUR 17 million, points to "twenty-two million already saved" and states he has "not asked the Region for a single euro in twenty-four years". Between 2025 and 2026 the Brussels Regional Fund for the Refinancing of Municipal Treasuries (FRBRTC) intervened three times, for EUR 21 million in total; the municipality requested a deferral to repay a EUR 7 million loan.

On 28 May 2026 the regional cabinet activated the coercive supervision procedure (tutelle coercitive) over the municipality, on the initiative of the minister for local authorities, citing "shortcomings and unlawful practices" and "systemic dysfunctions" identified by the Brussels Local Authorities administration. The procedure provides for formal warnings and, if the irregularities persist, the appointment of a special commissioner tasked with restoring the finances and overseeing municipal decisions. This is the first municipal coercive supervision in Brussels since the Schaerbeek counters affair (1976).

To restore its finances, the municipality had already taken drastic measures: a massive increase in property tax (PRI) from 2,980 to 4,090 additional centimes (the steepest rise in the Region) and the abolition of the municipal staff year-end bonus. A fatal shooting in January 2026 reignited security concerns.

Confidence: official (cabinet decision + regional press release; deficit as a contested value Region/municipality). Sources: L'Avenir (28/05/2026) ; BRUZZ (28/05/2026) ; RTBF (28/05/2026).

A unique political context

The annulled and re-held elections constitute a unique case in the history of Brussels municipalities. The PS and Ecolo are excluded from any coalition by the outgoing mayor.