The politics of Belgium take place in the framework of a federal,representative democratic,constitutional monarchy. The King of the Belgians is the head of state,and the prime minister of Belgium is the head of government,in a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Federal legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of parliament,the Senate and the Chamber of Representatives. The federation is made up of (language-based) communities and (territorial) regions. Philippe is the seventh and current King of the Belgians,having ascended the throne on 21 July 2013.
The Flemish Parliament constitutes the legislative power in Flanders for matters which fall within the competence of Flanders,both as a geographic region and as a cultural community of Belgium.
Regional elections were held in Belgium,to choose representatives in the regional councils of Flanders,Wallonia,Brussels and the German-speaking Community on 13 June 1999. The regional elections were held on the same day as the European elections and the federal elections.
The Workers' Party of Belgium is a Marxist and socialist political party in Belgium. It is the only Belgian party represented in parliament that is a fully national party,representing both Flanders and Wallonia. Having historically been a small party,the PTB-PVDA has gained momentum since the 2010s,continuously scoring better at the elections,particularly in Wallonia and working-class communities in Brussels.
Flanders is both a cultural community and an economic region within the Belgian state,and has significant autonomy.
Flemish political parties operate in the whole Flemish Community,which covers the unilingual Flemish Region and the bilingual Brussels-Capital Region. In the latter,they compete with French-speaking parties that all also operate in Wallonia. There are very few parties that operate on a national level in Belgium. Flanders generally tends to vote for right-wing,conservative parties,whereas in French-speaking Belgium the socialist party is usually the most successful one.
Elections in Belgium are organised for legislative bodies only,and not for executive functions. Direct elections take place for the European Parliament,the Chamber of Representatives,the Parliaments of the Regions,the Parliaments of the Communities,the provincial councils,the municipal councils and the councils of Districts of Antwerp. Voting is mandatory and all elections use proportional representation which in general requires coalition governments.
The Belgian provincial,municipal and district elections of 2006 took place on Sunday 8 October 2006. The electors have elected the municipal councillors of 589 cities and towns as well as the ten provincial councils. The voters in the town of Antwerp have also been able to vote for the city's district councils. In seven Flemish municipalities with a special language statute and in the Walloon municipality of Comines-Warneton the aldermen and the members of the OCMW/CPAS council have also been directly elected.
Geert Albert Bourgeois is a Belgian politician of the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA),which he founded in 2001,who is currently serving as a Member of the European Parliament since 2019. He previously served as the Minister-President of Flanders from 2014 to 2019. Prior to this,he was a member of the federal Chamber of Representatives for the People's Union from 1995 to 2001,and then for the N-VA from 2001 to 2004. He has been involved in local and regional politics in Flanders since 1976.
Federal elections were held in Belgium on 25 May 2014. All 150 members of the Chamber of Representatives were elected,whereas the Senate was no longer directly elected following the 2011–2012 state reform. These were the first elections held under King Philippe's reign.
Regional elections were held in Belgium on 25 May 2014 to choose representatives for the Flemish Parliament,Walloon Parliament,Brussels Parliament and the Parliament of the German-speaking Community. These elections were held on the same day as the 2014 European elections as well as the 2014 Belgian federal election.
Peter Mertens is a Belgian politician who led the Workers' Party of Belgium from 2008 to 2021. He has served as a member of the Chamber of Representatives since 2019,and as a municipal councilor in Antwerp since 2013.
Federal elections were held in Belgium on 26 May 2019,alongside the country's European and regional elections. All 150 members of the Chamber of Representatives were elected from eleven multi-member constituencies.
The Belgian provincial,municipal and district elections of 2018 took place on Sunday 14 October 2018. They are organised by the respective regions:
The 2019 Belgian regional elections took place on Sunday 26 May,the same day as the 2019 European Parliament election as well as the Belgian federal election.
Antwerp is one of the 11 multi-member constituencies of the Chamber of Representatives,the lower house of the Belgian Federal Parliament,the national legislature of Belgium. The constituency was established in 2003 following the re-organisation of constituencies across Belgium along provincial lines. It is conterminous with the province of Antwerp. The constituency currently elects 24 of the 150 members of the Chamber of Representatives using the open party-list proportional representation electoral system. At the 2019 federal election the constituency had 1,341,450 registered electors.
Wouter Vermeersch is a Belgian politician from Flanders for the Vlaams Belang party and a member of the Chamber of Representatives.
Maria Vindevoghel is a Belgian shop steward in the Confederation of Christian Trade Unions and politician of the Workers' Party of Belgium.
The 2024 Belgian regional elections were held on Sunday 9 June,the same day as the 2024 European Parliament election as well as the Belgian federal election.
Belgium: Workers' Party (2021–present)
EU: The Left –GUE/NGL