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212 seats in the Chamber of Representatives | ||
This article is part of a series on the politics and government of Belgium |
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General elections were held in Belgium on 26 March 1961. [1] The result was a victory for the Christian Social Party, which won 96 of the 212 seats in the Chamber of Representatives and 47 of the 106 seats in the Senate. [2] Voter turnout was 92.3%. [3] Elections for the nine provincial councils were also held.
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Western Europe. It is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to the southwest, and the North Sea to the northwest. It covers an area of 30,688 square kilometres (11,849 sq mi) and has a population of more than 11.4 million. The capital and largest city is Brussels; other major cities are Antwerp, Ghent, Charleroi and Liège.
The Christian Social Party (PSC-CVP) was a Christian democratic political party in Belgium, which existed from 1945 until 1968 when it split along linguistic lines.
The country of Belgium is divided into three regions. Two of these regions, the Flemish Region or Flanders, and Walloon Region, or Wallonia, are each subdivided into five provinces. The third region, the Brussels-Capital Region, is not divided into provinces, as it was originally only a small part of a province itself.
Prior to the elections, the centre-right government of the Christian Social and Liberal Party led by Gaston Eyskens pushed through austerity measures with a law known as the Eenheidswet or Loi Unique, despite heavy strikes in the preceding weeks, especially in Wallonia. After the elections, the Christian Democrats formed a new government with the Socialist Party instead of the Liberal Party, with Théo Lefèvre as Prime Minister.
Gaston François Marie, Viscount Eyskens was a Christian democratic politician and Prime Minister of Belgium. He was also an economist and member of the Belgian Christian Social Party (CVP-PSC).
The Law on Economic Growth, Social Progress and Fiscal Redressment, better known as the Unitary Law, was a Belgian law passed in 1961. The law introduced a fiscal austerity programme, intended to reduce Belgium’s large government debt and to respond to the independence of the Belgian Congo in 1960. It was championed by the Christian Social Party government of Gaston Eyskens.
Théodore Joseph Albéric Marie "Théo" Lefèvre was a lawyer at the Ghent court of justice. In 1946 he became deputy of the Belgian parliament for the PSC-CVP. Between 25 April 1961 and 28 July 1965 he was the 39th Prime Minister of Belgium.
Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/– |
---|---|---|---|---|
Christian Social Party | 2,182,642 | 41.46 | 96 | –8 |
Belgian Socialist Party | 1,933,424 | 36.72 | 84 | +4 |
Liberal Party | 649,376 | 12.33 | 20 | 0 |
People's Union | 182,407 | 3.46 | 5 | +4 |
Communist Party of Belgium | 162,238 | 3.08 | 5 | +3 |
National Rally | 42,450 | 0.81 | 1 | New |
Independent Party | 33,174 | 0.63 | 0 | New |
National Union of Independents | 12,252 | 0.23 | 0 | New |
National Party | 4,375 | 0.08 | 0 | New |
Liberal Dissidents | 3,956 | 0.08 | 0 | New |
Walloon Unity | 3,466 | 0.07 | 0 | New |
Alleenstaande | 3,101 | 0.06 | 0 | New |
Zelfstandig | 2,307 | 0.04 | 0 | New |
Francophone Bloc | 1,824 | 0.03 | 0 | New |
Gekavemus | 604 | 0.01 | 0 | New |
Independent Workers | 551 | 0.01 | 0 | New |
Universal People | 480 | 0.01 | 0 | New |
EC Group | 154 | 0.00 | 0 | New |
Independents | 46,244 | 0.88 | 1 | – |
Invalid/blank votes | 308,815 | – | – | – |
Total | 5,573,840 | 100 | 212 | 0 |
Registered voters/turnout | 6,036,165 | 92.34 | – | – |
Source: Belgian Elections |
Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/– |
---|---|---|---|---|
Christian Social Party | 2,200,323 | 42.12 | 47 | –6 |
Belgian Socialist Party | 1,924,605 | 36.84 | 45 | +5 |
Liberal Party | 637,922 | 12.20 | 11 | +1 |
Communist Party of Belgium | 163,576 | 3.13 | 1 | 0 |
People's Union | 159,096 | 3.05 | 2 | +2 |
National Movement | 26,211 | 0.65 | 0 | New |
Independent Party | 21,421 | 0.41 | 0 | New |
National Union of Independents | 21,421 | 0.41 | 0 | New |
Liberal Dissidents | 7,711 | 0.15 | 0 | New |
National Rally | 5,425 | 0.10 | 0 | New |
National Party | 4,457 | 0.09 | 0 | New |
Walloon Unity | 3,478 | 0.07 | 0 | New |
Francophone Bloc | 1,947 | 0.04 | 0 | New |
Independents | 36,646 | 0.70 | 0 | 0 |
Invalid/blank votes | 349,475 | – | – | – |
Total | 5,573,982 | 100 | 106 | 0 |
Registered voters/turnout | 6,036,165 | 92.34 | – | – |
Source: Belgian Elections |
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