Belgian general election, 1981

Last updated
Belgian general election, 1981
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg
  1978 8 November 1981 1985  

212 seats in the Chamber of Representatives

 First partySecond partyThird party
  Mark Eyskens 1986.jpg Andre Cools.jpg Ministers Belgische Kabinet. Vice Eerste Minister W. de Clerq (PVV), Bestanddeelnr 918-9461.jpg
Leader Mark Eyskens André Cools Willy De Clercq
Party CVP PS PVV
Leader sinceCandidate for PM19781977
Last election57 seats, 26.14%31 seats, 12.46%22 seats, 10.36%
Seats won433528
Seat changeDecrease2.svg 14Increase2.svg 4Increase2.svg 6
Popular vote1,165,239733,137776,871
Percentage19.34%12.17%12.89%
SwingDecrease2.svg 6.80%Decrease2.svg 0.29%Increase2.svg 2.53%

 Fourth partyFifth partySixth party
  Karel van Miert (SP, Belgie), Bestanddeelnr 933-5684.jpg No image.png Victor anciaux-1486816672.jpg
Leader Karel Van Miert Jean Gol Vic Anciaux
Party SP PRL VU
Leader since197819791979
Last election26 seats, 12.37%15 seats, 4.64%14 seats, 7.02%
Seats won262420
Seat changeSteady2.svgIncrease2.svg 9Increase2.svg 6
Popular vote744,593480,380588,436
Percentage12.36%7.97%9.77%
SwingDecrease2.svg 0.01%Increase2.svg 3.33%Increase2.svg 2.75%

Belgian federal election 1981 - Chamber - circumscriptions.svg
Colours denote the winning party in each electoral district (for the Chamber of Deputies).

Government before election

M. Eyskens
CVP-PSC-PS-SP

Elected Government

Martens V
CVP-PSC-PVV-PRL

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 8 November 1981. [1] Voter turnout was 94.5% in the Chamber election and 94.6% in the Senate election. [2] 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 (Agalev and Ecolo). The traditionally largest Christian People's Party saw significant losses, with only 43 of the 212 seats in the Chamber of Representatives.

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.

Parliament of the German-speaking Community Belgian parliament

The Parliament of the German-speaking Community is the legislative assembly of the German-speaking Community of Belgium based in Eupen.

<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.

Contents

Results

Chamber of Deputies

PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Christian People's Party 1,165,23919.3443–14
Party for Freedom and Progress 776,87112.8928+6
Parti Socialiste 733,13712.1735+4
Socialistische Partij 744,59312.36260
People's Union 588,4369.7720+6
Liberal Reformist Party 480,3807.9724+9
Social Christian Party 390,8966.4918–7
FDF-RW 253,7204.218–3
Agalev 138,5752.302+2
Ecolo 132,3122.202+2
UDRT/RAD 130,5262.173+2
Communist Party of Belgium 138,9782.312–2
Vlaams Blok 66,4241.1010
PVDA 40,4460.670New
PSC/CSP39,9610.660New
PRL/PFF 35,9250.600New
SP/PS31,7840.530New
WALLON31,0610.520New
RAD28,6610.480New
ECOLO-J10,9460.180New
Party of German-speaking Belgians 8,3970.1400
RAL7,1100.120New
ECOLOS5,8580.100New
LRT-PLS5,2410.090New
FNK5,1020.080New
UDRT4,5400.080New
BLANCO4,1180.070New
DD3,5450.060New
UNF2,9140.050New
PVDA/PTB 2,8980.050New
ECO-BXL2,7100.040New
FN2,4790.040New
PTB 2,4600.040New
BNP2,2630.040New
PCPA1,7850.030New
PNB-BNP9540.020New
PFU8560.0100
AAJ8380.010New
URD5980.010New
LISTE-125880.010New
LISTE-143720.010New
CIN2100.000New
LISTE-131800.000New
PNB1400.000New
Invalid/blank votes477,043
Total6,502,0701002120
Source: Belgian Election Results

Senate

PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Christian People's Party 1,149,35319.2622–7
Party for Freedom and Progress 781,13713.0914+3
Parti Socialiste 755,51212.6618New
Socialistische Partij 732,12612.2713New
People's Union 587,0029.8410+3
Liberal Reformist Party 515,8688.6411New
Social Christian Party 414,7336.958–4
FDF-RW 255,7274.284–3
UDRT/RAD 164,1312.751+1
Ecolo 153,9892.583+3
Communist Party of Belgium 140,5772.3610
Agalev 121,0162.031New
Vlaams Blok 71,7331.2000
PVDA/PTB 49,5770.830New
WALLON30,6320.510New
Party of German-speaking Belgians 8,7700.1500
RAL8,4500.140New
LRT-PLS5,8940.100New
FNK5,3170.090New
ECOLOS2,7960.050New
UNF2,7210.050New
DD2,2950.040New
FN2,0920.040New
GOOSSE1,5110.030New
BELGE1,3260.020New
PFU1,0520.0200
PKS7370.010New
URD6290.010New
LISTE-126260.010New
PAIX6110.010New
LISTE-143780.010New
LISTE-131110.000New
Invalid/blank votes534,297
Total6,502,7261001060
Source: Election Results

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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