1985 Belgian general election

Last updated

1985 Belgian general election
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg
  1981 13 October 1985 1987  

212 seats in the Chamber of Representatives
 First partySecond partyThird party
 
Wilfried Martens 1982 (cropped).jpg
PS
Karel van Miert (SP, Belgie), Bestanddeelnr 933-5684.jpg
Leader Wilfried Martens Guy Spitaels Karel Van Miert
Party CVP PS sp.a
Leader sinceCandidate for PM19811978
Last election43 seats, 19.34%35 seats, 12.17%26 seats, 12.36%
Seats won493532
Seat changeIncrease2.svg 6Steady2.svgIncrease2.svg 6
Popular vote1,291,244834,488882,200
Percentage21.29%13.76%14.55%
SwingIncrease2.svg 1.95%Increase2.svg 1.59%Increase2.svg 2.19%

 Fourth partyFifth partySixth party
 
Louis Michel.jpg
Verhofstadt cropped.jpg
Gerard DEPREZ (16039228164).jpg
Leader Louis Michel Guy Verhofstadt Gérard Deprez
Party PRL Open Vld cdH
Leader since198219821981
Last election24 seats, 7.97%28 seats, 12.89%18 seats, 6.49%
Seats won242220
Seat changeSteady2.svgDecrease2.svg 6Increase2.svg 2
Popular vote619,390651,806482,254
Percentage10.21%10.75%7.95%
SwingIncrease2.svg 2.24%Decrease2.svg 2.14%Increase2.svg 1.50%

1985 Belgium Chamber of Representatives election.svg
1985 Belgium Senate election.svg

Government before election

Martens V
CVP-PSC-PVV-PRL

Government after election

Martens VI
CVP-PSC-PVV-PRL

Prime Minister Martens Wilfried Martens 1982 (cropped).jpg
Prime Minister Martens

General elections were held in Belgium on 13 October 1985. The Christian People's Party emerged as the largest party, with 49 of the 212 seats in the Chamber of Representatives and 25 of the 106 seats in the Senate. Elections to the nine provincial councils were also held.

Contents

The incumbent government was a coalition of Christian democrats (CVP/PSC) and liberals (PVV/PRL) led by Prime Minister Wilfried Martens. Following the elections, the same parties formed a new Martens Government. [1] Guy Verhofstadt, PVV leader since 1982, was elected for the first time as representative. Despite PVV being the only governing party to lose seats, he was able to weigh on the government agreement and he became Deputy Prime Minister in the Martens VI Government. The government would fall two years later due to the Voeren issue; distrust of labour unions in Verhofstadt proved to be a factor as well.

Results

Chamber of Representatives

Belgian Chamber 1985.svg
PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Christian People's Party 1,291,24421.2949+6
Socialistische Partij 882,20014.5532+6
Parti Socialiste 834,48813.76350
Party for Freedom and Progress 651,80610.7522–6
Liberal Reformist Party 619,39010.21240
Social Christian Party (PSC) 482,2547.9520+2
People's Union 477,7557.8816–4
Agalev 226,7583.744+2
Ecolo 152,4832.515+3
Vlaams Blok 85,3911.4110
Democratic Front of Francophones 72,3611.193
Communist Party of Belgium 71,6951.180–2
Democratic Union for the Respect of Labour 69,7071.151–2
Workers' Party of Belgium 46,0340.7600
Solidarity and Participation31,9830.530New
Socialist Workers' Party 13,6810.2300
Green9,7190.160New
Walloon Party9,2840.150New
Organic Front for the Cultural Renewal of Solidarist Europe8,2210.140New
Union for a New Democracy6,6090.110New
Party of German-speaking Belgians 5,2280.0900
National Front 3,7380.060New
Christian Liberal Party3,4420.060New
Parti Communautaire National-Européen 1,7630.030New
Zo Maar1,6300.030New
United Feminist Party1,2010.0200
Union of Progressive Walloons8280.010New
Flemish People's Party 6780.010New
Charlier6550.010New
GIOT6400.010New
Humanist Party5180.010New
Appeal to All4640.010New
SDU–USD4120.010New
Total6,064,260100.002120
Valid votes6,064,26092.55
Invalid/blank votes487,9747.45
Total votes6,552,234100.00
Registered voters/turnout7,001,29793.59
Source: Belgian Elections

Senate

Belgium Senate 1985.svg
PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Christian People's Party 1,260,11321.0225+3
Socialistische Partij 868,62414.4916+3
Parti Socialiste 832,79213.89180
Party for Freedom and Progress 637,77610.6411–3
Liberal Reformist Party 588,3739.8213+2
People's Union 484,9968.098–2
Social Christian Party 475,1197.9310+2
Agalev 229,2063.822+1
Ecolo 163,3612.732–1
Vlaams Blok 90,1201.5000
Democratic Union for the Respect of Labour 73,0451.220–1
Communist Party of Belgium 71,0201.180–1
Democratic Front of Francophones 70,2391.171
Workers' Party of Belgium 44,7990.7500
Solidarity and Participation33,5540.560New
Socialist Workers' Party 16,7860.2800
Green10,9880.180New
Walloon Party10,5390.180New
Organic Front for the Cultural Renewal of Solidarist Europe9,3180.160New
Union for a New Democracy7,2000.120New
Party of German-speaking Belgians 5,3640.090New
National Front 4,2010.070New
Christian Liberal Party3,2670.050New
United Feminist Party1,4300.0200
Parti Communautaire National-Européen 1,3120.020New
Flemish People's Party 4460.010New
Paix4430.0100
Total5,994,431100.001060
Valid votes5,994,43191.48
Invalid/blank votes558,2598.52
Total votes6,552,690100.00
Registered voters/turnout7,001,29793.59
Source: Belgian Elections

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Politics of the Netherlands</span>

The Netherlands is a parliamentary representative democracy. A constitutional monarchy, the country is organised as a decentralised unitary state. The Netherlands can be described as a consociational state. Dutch politics and governance are characterised by a common striving for broad consensus on important issues, within both of the political community and society as a whole.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guy Verhofstadt</span> Prime Minister of Belgium from 1999 to 2008

Guy Maurice Marie Louise Verhofstadt is a Belgian liberal and European federalist politician. He is a former prime minister of Belgium. He was a member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Belgium from 2009 until 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats</span> Political party from Flanders, Belgium

The Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats is a Flemish liberal political party in Belgium. The party has been described as centre-right and has smaller factions within the party that have conservative liberal and social liberal views. The party is a member of the Liberal Group, Renew Europe, and Liberal International.

The Liberal Reformist Party was a liberal political party active in Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium. The PRL grew out of the Francophone part of the unitary liberal Party for Freedom and Progress (PVV-PLP) in 1971 and merged into the Reformist Movement (RM) in 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Eyskens</span> Belgian politician

Marc Maria Frans, Viscount Eyskens, known as Mark Eyskens, is a Belgian economist, professor and politician in the Christian People's Party, now called Christian Democratic and Flemish, and briefly served as the prime minister of Belgium in 1981.

The Party for Freedom and Progress was a liberal political party in Belgium which existed from 1961 until 1992. The party was the successor of the Liberal Party, which had roots dating back to 1846. It was succeeded in the Flemish Community of Belgium by the Flemish Liberals and Democrats (VLD) and in the French Community by the Liberal Reformist Party, Parti des Réformes et des Libertés de Wallonie and the current-day Reformist Movement. In the German-speaking Community, it continued to exist as the Party for Freedom and Progress up to 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1982 Dutch general election</span>

Early general elections were held in the Netherlands on 8 September 1982. The Labour Party emerged as the largest party, winning 47 of the 150 seats in the House of Representatives; however, this would be the last time it did so until 1994.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1984 Danish general election</span>

General elections were held in Denmark on 10 January 1984, after the opposition voted against the centre-right four-party government's state budget bill. Although the Social Democratic Party remained the largest in the Folketing with 56 of the 179 seats, the Conservative People's Party achieved its best-ever result, gaining 16 seats. The coalition partners Venstre and the Christian People's Party also increased their representation, although the fourth government party, the Centre Democrats, lost seven of their 15 seats. Overall the coalition government won three more seats, and Poul Schlüter continued as prime minister.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1985 Swedish general election</span>

General elections were held in Sweden on 15 September 1985. The election results enabled the Swedish Social Democratic Party to form a minority government with support from the Left Party Communists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1984 Australian federal election</span>

The 1984 Australian federal election was held in Australia on 1 December 1984. All 148 seats in the House of Representatives and 46 of 76 seats in the Senate were up for election. The incumbent Labor Party led by Prime Minister Bob Hawke defeated the opposition Liberal–National coalition, led by Andrew Peacock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2007 Belgian federal election</span>

Federal elections were held in Belgium on 10 June 2007. Voters went to the polls in order to elect new members for the Chamber of Representatives and Senate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1986 French legislative election</span>

Legislative elections were held in France on 16 March 1986 to elect the eighth National Assembly of the Fifth Republic. Contrary to other legislative elections of the Fifth Republic, the electoral system used was that of party-list proportional representation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1983 Australian federal election</span>

The 1983 Australian federal election was held in Australia on 5 March 1983. All 125 seats in the House of Representatives and all 64 seats in the Senate were up for election, following a double dissolution. The incumbent Coalition government which had been in power since 1975, led by Malcolm Fraser and Doug Anthony, was defeated in a landslide by the opposition Labor Party led by Bob Hawke.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1984 Indian general election</span>

General elections were held in India on 24, 27 and 28 December 1984 soon after the assassination of previous Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, though the vote in Assam and Punjab was delayed until 1985 due to ongoing insurgency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1981 Belgian general election</span>

General elections were held in Belgium on 8 November 1981. Voter turnout was 94.5% in the Chamber election and 94.6% in the Senate election. Elections were also held for the nine provincial councils and for the Council of the German Cultural Community. They were the first elections after the voting age was lowered from 21 to 18. This contributed to the success of the socialist parties and the green parties.

The 2007–2008 Belgian government formation followed the general election of 10 June 2007, and comprised a period of negotiation in which the Flemish parties Flemish Liberal Democratic, Christian Democratic and Flemish (CD&V) and New Flemish Alliance (N-VA), and the French-speaking parties Reformist Movement (MR), Democratic Front of Francophones (FDF) and Humanist Democratic Centre (CdH) negotiated to form a government coalition. The negotiations were characterized by the disagreement between the Dutch- and French-speaking parties about the need for and nature of a constitutional reform. According to some, this political conflict could have led to a partition of Belgium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steven Vanackere</span> Belgian politician

Steven Vanackere is a Belgian politician from Flanders and member of the Christian Democratic and Flemish party (CD&V). He held the portfolios of Deputy Prime Minister of Belgium and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Institutional Reform in the Leterme II government. He is the son of Leo Vanackere, who, following a political career as a Member of the Chamber of Representatives and the Senate of Belgium, became the Provincial Governor of West Flanders in 1979. His grandfather, Remi Wallays, had also been a senator and had been a former Mayor of Wevelgem.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2010 Dutch general election</span>

General elections were held in the Netherlands on Wednesday 9 June 2010. This was triggered by the fall of Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende's fourth cabinet on 20 February with Queen Beatrix accepting the resignation of the Labour Party (PvdA) ministers on 23 February. The conservative-liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), led by Mark Rutte, won the largest number of seats in the House of Representatives while the social-democratic PvdA, led by Job Cohen, came a narrow second. The election was also noted for the rise of the Party for Freedom (PVV), which came third, led by controversial politician Geert Wilders. On the other hand, Balkenende's Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) saw a poor result, losing half its seats and dropping from first to fourth place. The Socialist Party (SP) also lost seats. Notably, the 31 seats won by the VVD was its most since 1998, and the one-seat margin between the VVD and PvdA is the closest on record.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First Rutte cabinet</span> Cabinet of the Netherlands, 2010 to 2012

The first Rutte cabinet, also called the Rutte–Verhagen cabinet was the executive branch of the government of the Netherlands from 14 October 2010 until 5 November 2012. The cabinet was formed by the conservative-liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and the Christian-democratic Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) after the election of 2010. The cabinet was a right-wing coalition and had a minority in the House of Representatives but had confidence and supply from the Party for Freedom (PVV) for a slim majority with Liberal Leader Mark Rutte serving as Prime Minister. Christian Democratic Leader Maxime Verhagen served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation.

An orange–blue coalition is a type of governing coalition in Belgian politics that brings together Liberal parties and Christian democratic/humanist political parties. These coalitions are also termed Blue–Roman, corresponding to the colors of the liberal parties, and the Roman of the Roman Catholic Church for the Christian Democrats.

References

  1. Fitzmaurice, John; Van den Berghe, Guido (1986). "The Belgian general election of 1985". Electoral Studies. 5 (1): 73–76. doi:10.1016/0261-3794(86)90030-2. ISSN   0261-3794.