Belgian-Moroccan Zakia Khattabi is well positioned to take the co-chairmanship of the Belgian Green Party “Ecolo”. She currently officiates as advisor to the Brussels municipality of Ixelles and MP, and together with the Walloon Patrick Dupriez, they are the only duo in the running to take the reins of the party.
By next Sunday, deadline for applications, the Belgian-Moroccan should access the co-chairmanship of the party in the election scheduled for the 22nd March.
The statutes of the Ecolo party provide for the establishment of a dual presidency composed of a Brussels and a Walloon, but also of a man and a woman. If confirmed, the duo Zakia Khattabi and Patrick Dupriez will have the difficult task to take the party out of the crisis in which it is immersed after its failure in the 2014 elections
The poor results obtained by this ecologist formation had forced the tandem of last year, Emily Hoyos and Olivier Deleuze, to announce the election of a new co-chair. Olivier Deleuze had admitted to not being able to properly perform his duties as president of Ecolo and mayor of Watermael-Boitsfort, while Emily Hoyos announced her intention not to run again.
In any case, within the party, the duo Dupriez-Khattabi has gained broad support. Ecolo executives have said that with the future co-presidents, all sensitivities came together. Zakia Khattabi is especially appreciated. Ecologists estimate that in five years, she has “grown and gained more stature.” Native of Brussels in 1976, Zakia Khattabi holds a degree in social work from the University of Brussels.
