Belgian general election, 1954

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Belgian general election, 1954
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←  1950 11 April 1954 1958  →
212 seats in the Chamber of Representatives

 First partySecond partyThird party
  Brussels, Palais de la Nation, Jean Van Houtte.jpg Achille Van Acker.jpg No image.png
Leader Jean Van Houtte Achille Van Acker Henri Liebaert
Party Christian Social Socialist Liberal
Leader sinceCandidate for PMCandidate for PM1953
Last election108 seats, 47.68%73 seats, 34.51%20 seats, 11.25%
Seats won958224
Seat changeDecrease2.svg 13Increase2.svg 9Increase2.svg 4
Popular vote2,123,4081,927,015626,983
Percentage41.15%37.34%12.15%
SwingDecrease2.svg 6.53%Increase2.svg 2.83%Increase2.svg 0.90%
 Fourth partyFifth partySixth party
  No image.png No image.png No image.png
LeaderN/AEdgard LalmandWalter Couvreur
Party LSK Communist CVV
Leader sinceN/A19431954
Last election4 seats, 1.77%7 seats, 4.75%New
Seats won541
Seat changeIncrease2.svg 1Decrease2.svg 3New
Popular vote108,175184,108113,632
Percentage2.10%3.57%2.20%
SwingIncrease2.svg 0.33%Decrease2.svg 1.18%New
Prime Minister before election

Jean Van Houtte
Christian Social

Elected Prime Minister

Achille Van Acker
Socialist

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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Constitution
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General elections were held in Belgium on 11 April 1954. [1] The dominant Christian Social Party won 95 of the 212 seats in the Chamber of Representatives and 49 of the 106 seats in the Senate. [2] Voter turnout was 93.2%. [3] Elections for 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.

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.

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 outgoing Catholic government led by Jean Van Houtte lost their majority in parliament. The two other main parties, the Socialist and Liberal Party, subsequently formed a rare "purple" government with Achille Van Acker as Prime Minister. Both parties had an anti-clerical agenda and aimed to reverse policies of the Catholic government regarding private schools. This would become known as the Second School War.

Jean Van Houtte Belgian politician

Jean (Jan) Marie Joseph, Baron Van Houtte was a Belgian politician.

Achille Van Acker Belgian former prime minister

Achille Van Acker was a Belgian politician who served three terms as Prime Minister of Belgium between 1946 and 1958. A moderate from Flanders, Van Acker was a member of the Belgian Socialist Party (PSB–BSP) and played an important role in the creation of the Belgian welfare state after World War II.

Anti-clericalism is opposition to religious authority, typically in social or political matters. Historical anti-clericalism has mainly been opposed to the influence of Roman Catholicism. Anti-clericalism is related to secularism, which seeks to remove the church from all aspects of public and political life, and its involvement in the everyday life of the citizen.

Results

Chamber of Deputies

PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Christian Social Party 2,123,40841.1595–13
Belgian Socialist Party 1,927,01537.3482+9
Liberal Party 626,98312.1524+4
Communist Party of Belgium 184,1083.574–3
Christian Flemish People's Union 113,6322.201New
Liberal-Soclialist Kartels 108,1752.105+1
Christian Social Rally of Liberty 42,9790.831New
Radio Antwerp10,1770.200New
Middle Class9,7290.190New
Universal People3,1390.060New
Veteran Combatants1,8390.040New
Van Wonterghem1,8170.040New
Liberal Dissidents1,8070.040New
Independent Social Party1,6130.030New
Hubert List1,1430.020New
Camus List1,0010.020New
Independent Union8840.020New
European Movement5810.010New
Flemish Bloc4560.010New
Mediator1910.000New
Independents2460.0000
Invalid/blank votes302,668–––
Total5,463,1541002120
Registered voters/turnout5,863,09293.18––
Source: Belgian Elections

Senate

PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Christian Social Party 2,387,82842.8049–5
Belgian Socialist Party 2,047,26536.7042+5
Liberal Party 676,68912.1311+1
Communist Party of Belgium 187,8403.372–1
Liberal-Soclialist Kartels 108,9661.9520
Christian Flemish People's Union 82,8621.490New
People's Union 36,5640.660New
Christian Social Rally of Liberty 32,3330.580New
Other parties14,6610.260–
Invalid/blank votes286,541–––
Total5,965,1301001060
Registered voters/turnout5,863,092101.74––
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, pp309-311
  3. ↑ Nohlen & Stöver, p291
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