Parliamentary election in Belgium 1978
The early election to the Belgian Parliament in 1978 was held on December 17, 1978. The 212 members of the Chamber of Deputies and the 106 directly elected out of 185 members of the Senate stood for election .
prehistory
After the parliamentary elections in 1977 , Leo Tindemans formed a five-party government consisting of Flemish ( CVP ) and Walloon Christian Democrats ( PSC ), socialists ( PSB-BSP ), the FDF, a francophone regional party in the Brussels region, and the Flemish nationalist VU . In 1977 the governing parties agreed on the Egmont Pact, which provided for Belgium to be divided into three regions and more federalization. However, a special regulation for French-speaking residents of predominantly Flemish-speaking communities in the vicinity of Brussels met with resistance from Flemish MPs. When the State Council raised legal concerns about some of the clauses of the Egmont Pact, MPs from Tindemans' CVP called for the treaty to be revised. Tindemans then resigned on October 11, 1978 and King Baudouin set new elections for December 17, 1978. Until then, there was a transitional government led by Paul Vanden Boeynants (PSC), which was based on the same five parties as its predecessor.
Chamber (lower house)
Parties
The high voter turnout of over 90% was due to the compulsory voting in Belgium.
Results
13 parties won seats in the Chamber of Deputies .
The ruling Christian Democrats were able to gain seats., The Flemish Christian Democrats (CVP) won an additional seat despite a minor loss of votes, and their Walloon sister party (PSC) also won an additional seat.
The socialists who were also involved in the government lost seats. The Walloon PSB lost three seats, the Flemish BSP lost one seat.
The Flemish Liberals (PVV) gained five additional seats, the Walloon Liberals (PRLW) improved by 1.2% but lost one seat. The Communists (KPB / PCB) doubled their seats to four.
Of the regional parties, the VU Flemish nationalists, who supported the Egmont Pact, were the clear losers. VU lost six seats. The Vlaams Blok (VB), split off from VU and based on the opponents of the Egmont Pact, won a seat. The Francophone FDF and the Rassemblement Wallon (RW) held their seats, the RAD / UDRT, which appeared for the first time and which defended the interests of the self-employed and Represented freelancers, won a mandate.
The official final result:
| Eligible voters | 6,366,655 | ||||
| votes cast | 6,042,689 | 94.91% | |||
| valid votes | 5,535,631 | 91.61% | |||
| be right | proportion of | ± to 1977 | Seats | ± to 1977 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVP | 1,447,112 | 26.14% | −0.06% | 57 | +1 |
| PSB | 689.876 | 12.46% | −0.95% | 31 | −3 |
| E.G | 684.976 | 12.37% | −0.64% | 26th | −1 |
| PVV | 573,387 | 10.36% | +1.82% | 22nd | +5 |
| PSC | 560.440 | 10.12% | + 2.83% | 25th | +1 |
| VU | 388,762 | 7.02% | −3.02% | 14th | −6 |
| FDF -RW | 259.019 | 4.68% | −0.04% | 11 | ± 0 |
| PRLW | 256,685 | 4.64% | +1.21% | 15th | −1 |
| KPB / PCB | 180.234 | 3.26% | +1.47% | 4th | +2 |
| RW | 128,153 | 2.32% | −0.06% | 4th | ± 0 |
| VB | 75,635 | 1.37% | +1.37% | 1 | +1 |
| RAD / UDRT | 48,616 | 0.88% | + 0.88% | 1 | +1 |
| PSB (LUX) | 30,222 | 0.55% | + 0.55% | 1 | +1 |
| PSB-RW | - | - | −0.60% | - | −1 |
- ↑ In the 1978 PSB election; at the 1997 BSP / PSB election in Brabant PSB for the 1977 result, PSB and BSP / PSB were added
- ↑ For 1977 the results of KPB / PCB and PCB were added
- ↑ Not running for the 1977 election
- ↑ Not running for the 1977 election
- ↑ In the 1978 election only in the province of Luxembourg in the other French-speaking provinces as PSB; 1977 not running in Luxembourg, a joint list of PSB and RW entered
- ↑ PSB-RW joint list in the 1977 election in the province of Luxembourg; in the 1978 elections, separate lists PSB (LUX) and RW took place in the province of Luxembourg
Senate (upper house)
In addition to the chamber deputies, 106 out of 185 senators were directly elected.
In the Senate election, the Christian Democratic parties (CVP and PSC) each won one seat in the Senate, the Socialists (PSB, PSB (LUX) and BSPP) held their seats and the Liberals (PVV and PRLW-PL) provided an additional Senator. The VU lost three seats, the FDF won one seat, the RW continues to provide two senators, and the communists defended their seat in the Senate.
Results
A total of eleven parties were elected to the Senate .
The official final result:
| Eligible voters | 6,366,655 | ||||
| votes cast | 6,044,545 | 94.94% | |||
| valid votes | 5,479,246 | 90.65% | |||
| be right | proportion of | ± to 1977 | Seats | ± to 1977 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVP | 1,420,777 | 25.93% | −0.25% | 29 | +1 |
| PSB | 685.307 | 12.51% | −1.18% | 17th | −2 |
| E.G | 678.776 | 12.39% | −0.36% | 13 | +1 |
| PVV | 572,535 | 10.45% | +1.90% | 11 | +2 |
| PSC | 535.939 | 9.78% | + 0.32% | 12 | +1 |
| VU | 384,562 | 7.02% | −3.17% | 7th | −3 |
| PRLW-PL | 330.155 | 6.03% | + 0.31% | 6th | −1 |
| FDF -RW | 266.713 | 4.87% | + 0.41% | 7th | +1 |
| KPB / PCB | 182.711 | 3.33% | +1.38% | 1 | ± 0 |
| RW | 123.794 | 2.26% | −0.61% | 2 | ± 0 |
| PSB (LUX) | 30,837 | 0.56% | +0.56% | 1 | +1 |
| PSB-RW | - | - | −0.61% | - | −1 |
- ↑ In the 1978 election in the province of Luxembourg as PSB (LUX) these votes are listed separately
- ↑ In the 1978 election PRLW-PL, in the 1977 election PRLW
- ↑ In the 1978 election FDF-RW, in the 1977 election FDF
- ↑ In the 1978 election FPB / PCB, in the 1977 election KPB-PCB
- ↑ In the 1978 election only in the province of Luxembourg; 1977 not running in Luxembourg, a joint list of PSB and RW entered
- ↑ PSB-RW joint list in the 1977 election in the province of Luxembourg; in the 1978 elections, separate lists PSB (LUX) and RW took place in the province of Luxembourg
Government formation
The new government of Prime Minister Wilfried Martens (CVP) consisted of five parties, the Christian Democrats (CVP and PSC) and the Socialists (PSB and BSP), which already belonged to the old government. The VU left the government and was replaced by the FDF.
literature
- Les Élections législatives du 17 decémbre 1978 (I) . In: Courrier hebdomadaire du CRISP . tape 1 , no. 826-827 , 1979, ISSN 0008-9664 , pp. 1–41 , doi : 10.3917 / cris.826.0001 (French, cairn.info ).
- Xavier Mabille, Jacques Brassinne: Les Élections législatives du 17 decémbre 1978 (II) . In: Courrier hebdomadaire du CRISP . tape 3 , no. 828 , 1979, ISSN 0008-9664 , pp. 1–37 , doi : 10.3917 / cris.828.0001 (French, cairn.info ).
Individual evidence
- ↑ Patrick Dumont, Lieven De Winter, Régis Dandoy: Démissions gouvernementales et performances électorales des majorités sortantes (1946-1999) . In: Courrier hebdomadaire du CRISP . tape 17 , no. 1722 , 2001, ISSN 0008-9664 , p. 27 , doi : 10.3917 / cris.1722.0005 (French, cairn.info ).
- ↑ Résultat Election Chambre 17-12-1978 Royaume. Belgian Federal Government, accessed November 30, 2019 (French).
- ↑ Résultat Élection Sénat 17-12-1978 Royaume. Belgian Federal Government, accessed November 30, 2019 (French).
- ^ Gouvernement Wilfried Martens I (April 3, 1979 - January 16, 1980). (PDF; 14 kB) Center de recherche et d'information socio-politiques, accessed on November 30, 2019 (French).