Are last-gasp elections invalid?

Leading with the headline, "Judges aim to torpedo elections," De Standaardreports that an initiative is already underway to invalidate the forthcoming Belgian general election. In a 3 May letter addressed to several leaders across the country, 12 Flemish trial court judges argue that the 13 June vote is illegal. The members of the group base their argument on a 2003 decision of the Belgian Constitutional Court, which ruled that elections in the bilingual voting district of Brussels-Hal-Vilvorde (BHV), which is the subject of a dispute between the country's Flemish and French speaking communities, could only be deemed valid if BHV was divided into two distinctive linguistic constituencies. The judges want this year's elections to be held in compliance with pre-2003 legislation, prior to the creation of BHV, which would bring an end to existing rules whereby Francophone voters can vote for French-speaking candidates. But with only "40 days left to run before the elections, the enormous reorganisation required"appears to be "wholly unfeasible," reports the Flemish daily. In her response to the letter, Interior Minister Annemie Turtelboom insists that "the Constitutional Court deemed the current election law to be unconstitutional, but did not invalidate it, which means that it still applies," — an interpretation that has divided opinion among the country's legal experts. As it stands, Belgium which is apparently "unwilling to heed the warning from the 12 judges, is about to conduct illegal elections," concludes De Standaard.