Belgian general election, 1965

Belgian general election, 1965
212 seats in the Chamber of Representatives
Prime Minister before election; Théo Lefèvre ; Christian Social	Elected Prime Minister ; Pierre Harmel ; Christian Social

Last updated March 13, 2019

General elections were held in Belgium on 23 May 1965.^[1] The result was a victory for the Christian Social Party, which won 77 of the 212 seats in the Chamber of Representatives and 44 of the 106 seats in the Senate.^[2] Voter turnout was 91.6%.^[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.

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 Flanders by the Flemish Liberals and Democrats (VLD) and in Wallonia 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 still exists as the Party for Freedom and Progress.

The Liberal Party was a Belgian political party that existed from 1846 until 1961, when it became the Party for Freedom and Progress, Partij voor Vrijheid en Vooruitgang/Parti de la Liberté et du Progrès or PVV-PLP, under the leadership of Omer Vanaudenhove.

Despite both government parties losing seats, they retained their sizeable majority and continued governing.

Results

Chamber of Representatives

Party	Votes	%	Seats	+/–
Christian Social Party (CVP-PSC)	1,785,211	34.45	77	–19
Belgian Socialist Party (BSP-PSB)	1,465,503	28.28	64	–20
Party for Freedom and Progress (PVV-PLP)	1,119,991	21.61	48	+28
People's Union (Volksunie)	346,860	6.69	12	+7
Communist Party of Belgium (KPB-PCB)	247,311	4.77	6	+1
Democratic Front of the Francophones (FDF)	68,966	1.33	3	New
Communists	41,674	0.80	0	New
Walloon Front	24,245	0.47	1	New
Walloon Workers' Party	23,582	0.46	1	New
de Socialist	14,937	0.29	0	New
Catholic Party	14,007	0.27	0	New
Flemish People's Party	13,321	0.26	0	New
Walloon Communist Party	13,321	0.26	0	New
Independent Social Party	9,493	0.18	0	New
Independent Workers Union	8,680	0.17	0	New
Flemish Democrats	7,983	0.15	0	New
Walloon Democratic Front	5,709	0.11	0	New
Afzonderlijk	4,762	0.09	0	New
Francophone Union	3,776	0.07	0	New
Independent National Party	3,089	0.06	0	New
Animal Protection	2,543	0.05	0	New
Belgian Workers' Party	2,237	0.04	0	New
Independent Rally	2,213	0.04	0	New
National Party	1,889	0.04	0	0
Return to Liège	1,552	0.03	0	New
Union of Independents	1,014	0.02	0	New
Independent Middle Class	958	0.02	0	New
Kaganovemus	890	0.02	0	New
Trotsky Communists	385	0.01	0	New
New Resistance Movement	309	0.01	0	New
Independents	493	0.01	0	–1
Invalid/blank votes	396,941	–	–	–
Total	5,578,876	100	212	0
Registered voters/turnout	6,091,534	91.58	–	–
Source: Belgian Elections

Senate

Party	Votes	%	Seats	+/–
Christian Social Party (CVP-PSC)	1,785,191	34.89	44	–3
Belgian Socialist Party (BSP-PSB)	1,449,482	28.33	31	–14
Party for Freedom and Progress (PVV-PLP)	1,111,894	21.73	23	+12
People's Union (Volksunie)	338,770	6.62	4	+2
Communist Party of Belgium (KPB-PCB)	249,796	4.88	3	+2
Democratic Front of the Francophones (FDF)	68,397	1.34	1	New
Walloon Democratic Front	27,215	0.53	0	New
Walloon Workers' Party	21,511	0.42	0	New
Independent Social Party	12,180	0.24	0	New
Walloon Communist Party	11,600	0.23	0	New
Francophone Union	7,656	0.15	0	New
Independent Rally	7,456	0.15	0	New
Independent Workers Union	6,448	0.13	0	New
Catholic Party	5,226	0.10	0	New
Belgian Workers' Party	4,207	0.08	0	New
Independent National Party	4,066	0.08	0	New
National Party	2,885	0.06	0	0
Kaganovemus	1,739	0.03	0	New
Independent Middle Class	831	0.02	0	New
Flemish Democrats	475	0.01	0	New
Invalid/blank votes	461,584	–	–	–
Total	5,578,609	100	106	0
Registered voters/turnout	6,091,534	91.58	–	–
Source: Belgian Elections

Constituencies

The distribution of seats among the electoral districts was as follows for the Chamber of Representatives. Seats were reapportioned among the districts due to population growth, which was stronger in Flanders than in Wallonia, and due to several municipalities having been changed to another province following the 1962 language laws. For example, the Comines-Warneton municipalities were transferred from Ypres (West Flanders) to the newly created arrondissement of Mouscron (Hainaut), causing Ypres to lose one seat and Tournai-Ath-Mouscron to gain one seat.

Comines-Warneton is a Belgian city and municipality in the Walloon province of Hainaut. On January 1, 2006, it had a total population of 17,562. Its total area is 61.09 km² (23.59 sq mi) which gives a population density of 287 inhabitants per square kilometre (740/sq mi). The name "Comines" is believed to have a Celtic, or Gaulish, origin. Comines-Warneton is a municipality with language facilities for Dutch-speakers.

The Arrondissement of Mouscron is one of the seven administrative arrondissements in the Province of Hainaut, Belgium. It is not a judicial arrondissement. Its municipalities are a part of the Judicial Arrondissement of Tournai.

Province	Arrondissement(s)	Chamber	Change
Antwerp	Antwerp	20	–
	Mechelen	6	–
	Turnhout	7	+1
Limburg	Hasselt	6	+1
Limburg	Tongeren-Maaseik	7	+1
East Flanders	Aalst	6	–
	Oudenaarde	3	–
	Gent-Eeklo	13	–
	Dendermonde	4	–
	Sint-Niklaas	4	–
West Flanders	Bruges	5	–
	Roeselare-Tielt	5	–
	Kortrijk	6	–
	Ypres	2	–1
	Veurne-Diksmuide-Ostend	5	–
Brabant	Leuven	8	+1
	Brussels	33	+1
	Nivelles	5	–
Hainaut	Tournai-Ath- Mouscron	7	+1
	Charleroi	11	–
	Thuin	3	–1
	Mons	6	–1
	Soignies	4	–
Liège	Huy-Waremme	4	–
	Liège	14	–
	Verviers	5	–1
Luxembourg	Arlon-Marche-Bastogne	3	–
Luxembourg	Neufchâteau-Virton	2	–1
Namur	Namur	5	–
Namur	Dinant-Philippeville	3	–1
Total		212	–

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References

↑ Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p289 ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7
↑ Nohlen & Stöver, pp309-311
↑ Nohlen & Stöver, p291

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[1] Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p289 ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7

[2] Nohlen & Stöver, pp309-311

[3] Nohlen & Stöver, p291

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