Open VLD chairman Tom Ongena asks party member to withdraw support for Abou Jahjah’s ‘Viva Palestina’ list

In order to submit a list for the elections, a minimum number of signatures must be collected from resigning MPs or voters of the constituency. The number of signatures varies depending on the election and the constituency.

MR had noted that Zamouri provided one of those signatures for Viva Palestina, the new party of writer and politician Dyab Abou Jahjah. He wants to submit a list for the Brussels Parliament in the coming elections.

European Parliament member Frédérique Ries (MR) was the first to ask Open Vld on X to distance itself from Zamouri. If the party did not do this, the intended collaboration between MR and Open Vld in Brussels could not continue, according to her. Bouchez then spoke of a serious political mistake and asked for clarification. The French-speaking liberals are particularly concerned about derogatory comments that Jahjah made about Jews on social media several years ago.

Open VLD chairman Tom Ongena has now also responded via X. “It is a personal initiative, and therefore not a party position,” he writes. “I deeply regret this and have asked her to withdraw her support. She will no longer be a candidate in the next elections.”