Flemish governor blocks ex-mayor Anthony Dumarey's return to office in Oudenburg after an audit found conflicts of interest in real-estate approvals
Anthony Dumarey stepped aside as mayor of Oudenburg in September 2023 after Audit Vlaanderen, the Flemish government's audit body, found he had mixed his personal real-estate business with his mayoral duties — including pushing through approval of a 9-apartment project on a plot his own company owned, and attending Club Brugge VIP hospitality with business partners shortly before approving a separate 14-unit housing project they were involved in. After Dumarey topped the October 2024 local election and sought reappointment, the Flemish minister of internal affairs formally refused to appoint him as mayor on 14 March 2025, following a negative recommendation from West Flanders governor Carl Decaluwé; Romina Vanhooren was sworn in as mayor instead in April 2025.