Belgian general election, 1971

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Belgian general election, 1971
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←  1968 7 November 1971 1974  →
212 seats in the Chamber of Representatives

 First partySecond partyThird party
  Gaston Eyskens (1969).jpg No image.png No image.png
Leader Gaston Eyskens Jos Van Eynde Edmond Leburton
Party CVP Socialist Socialist
Leader sinceCandidate for PM19711971
Last electionNew59 seats, 27.10% [a] 59 seats, 27.10% [a]
Seats won402525
Seat changeNewDecrease2.svg 34Decrease2.svg 34
Popular vote967,701623,395549,483
Percentage18.32%11.80%10.40%
SwingNewDecrease2.svg 15.30%Decrease2.svg 16.70%
 Fourth partyFifth partySixth party
  No image.png No image.png No image.png
LeaderFrans Van der Elst Pierre Descamps Robert J. Houben
Party VU PVV PSC
Leader since195519691966
Last election20 seats, 9.79%47 seats, 20.87%New
Seats won211615
Seat changeIncrease2.svg 1Decrease2.svg 31New
Popular vote586,917392,130327,393
Percentage11.11%7.42%6.20%
SwingIncrease2.svg 1.32%Decrease2.svg 13.45%New
Belgian federal election 1971 - Chamber - circumscriptions.svg
Colours denote the winning party in each electoral district (for the Chamber of Deputies).
a Beginning in 1971, the Belgian Socialist Party ran as separate lists for Flanders and Wallonia, however they still existed as a single party, hence why both show their previous united results.
Prime Minister before election

Gaston Eyskens
CVP

Elected Prime Minister

Gaston Eyskens
CVP

Kingdom of Belgium
State Coat of Arms of Belgium.svg
This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
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General elections were held in Belgium on 7 November 1971. [1] The result was a victory for the Christian People's Party, which won 40 of the 212 seats in the Chamber of Representatives and 34 of the 106 seats in the Senate. Voter turnout was 91.5%. [2] Elections to the nine provincial councils were also held.

Belgium Federal constitutional monarchy in Western Europe

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.

<i>Christen-Democratisch en Vlaams</i> political party in Flanders/Belgium

Christian Democratic and Flemish is a Christian democratic Flemish political party in Belgium. The party has historical ties to both trade unionism (ACV) and trade associations (UNIZO) and the Farmer's League. Until 2001, the party was named the Christian People's Party.

Provinces of Belgium subdivision of Belgium

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.

Contents

The linguistic issues led to the splitting of the major parties into separate Flemish and Francophone parties. Consequently the election returned a very fragmented parliament.

The election followed the first state reform, with the creation of three cultural communities. The newly elected members of parliament would thus also serve in the newly established cultural councils.

State reform in Belgium

The term State reform in the Belgian context refers to the ongoing process of seeking and finding constitutional and legal solutions to the problems and tensions that exist among the different segments of the Belgian population, mostly between the Dutch-speakers of Flanders and the French-speakers of Wallonia. In general, Belgium has evolved from a unitary state to a federal state with communities, regions, and language areas.

Results

Chamber of Representatives

PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Christian People's Party (CVP)967,70118.3240New
Belgian Socialist Party (Flanders) (BSP)623,39511.8025New
People's Union (Volksunie)586,91711.1121+1
Belgian Socialist Party (Wallonia) (PSB)549,48310.4025New
Party for Freedom and Progress (PVV)392,1307.4216New
Christian Social Party (PSC)327,3936.2015New
Walloon Rally (RW)306,6065.8112+6
PSC-CVP 292,1015.5312−57
FDF-RW 286,6395.4312New
Party for Freedom and Progress (Wallonia) (PLP)275,7765.2211New
Belgian Socialist Party (Brussels) 162,8523.087New
PVV/PLP 107,6152.044–43
Red Lions 104,0401.974+4
Communist Party (Wallonia) (PC)91,7261.744New
Party for Freedom and Progress (Brussels) 90,1341.713New
Communist Party (Flanders) (KP)67,4871.281New
LOB-LIB21,9190.420New
Onaf Christ7,8010.150New
LVV2,7400.050New
Trotskyists2,6600.0500
Kaganovemus2,5800.050New
PCB2,3040.0400
Van Meerhage2,0040.040New
Z Kleur1,5470.0300
DPU1,5340.030New
Francophone Party1,4710.030New
New Party8990.020New
U Verbruik6400.010New
Dieferenbes6330.0100
De Keyzer5650.010New
R D Wal3390.010New
Invalid/blank votes459,637–––
Total5,741,2681002120
Source: Belgian Elections

Senate

PartyVotes%Seats+/–
CVP-PSC 1,547,85329.7034+5
Party for Freedom and Progress (PVV-PLP)776,51414.9015−7
Belgian Socialist Party (Wallonia) (PSB)710,43713.6316New
Belgian Socialist Party (Flanders) (BSP)615,80511.826New
FDF-RW 598,76811.496+1
People's Union (Volksunie)592,50911.3712+3
Communist Party of Belgium (KPB-PCB)106,7992.051−1
BSP–Red Lions 97,3711.870New
Liberal Democrat and Pluralist Party81,1331.562New
UDP61,6161.180New
LIB-LOB15,1380.290New
Kaganovemus3,8000.0700
LVV3,1590.060New
Valentyn5130.010New
Invalid/blank votes415,246–––
Total5,626,6611001060
Source: Belgian Elections

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References

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