Parliamentary election in Belgium 2003
The 2003 election to the Belgian parliament was brought forward by Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt by a month in order to take advantage of the government's high popularity at the time. The election was held on May 18, 2003.
Parties
The high voter turnout of over 90% is due to the compulsory voting in Belgium. The winners of the election were the socialists. The Walloon Socialists ( PS ) won five seats, the sp.a-spirit, a list of the Flemish Socialists renamed SP.A in 2001, and SPIRIT , the left wing of the Volksunie , which fell apart in 2001 , improved by nine seats.
The Liberals saw slight gains. The Walloon Liberals ( MR ), formed in 2002 from the merger of PRL, PFF , FDF and MCC, were able to gain six seats, the Flemish Liberals ( VLD ) gained 2 seats.
The two green parties were the clear losers. The Walloon Ecolo lost seven of the eleven seats, the Flemish Greens Agalev , who previously held nine seats, failed to make it into the Chamber of Deputies.
The right-wing populist Vlaams Blok (VB) gained 3 seats, the separatist N-VA , the nationalist wing of the Volksunie , which was dissolved in 2001 , won one seat in the Chamber of Deputies.
The Walloon Christian Democrats ( CDH ) - until 2002 PSC - lost 2 seats, the right-wing extremist FN held its seat.
Chamber (lower house)
Suffrage
The right to vote have all Belgian nationals over the age of 18 years old. The electoral rights have Belgian nationals residing in Belgium and a minimum age of 21 years.
Belgium is divided into eleven constituencies, the ten provinces and the capital region of Brussels. The number of mandates per constituency is proportional to the number of inhabitants and is redetermined every ten years. The Antwerp constituency has the largest number of MPs with 24, while Luxembourg has the lowest number with four. Within the constituencies, the mandates are distributed to the list according to a proportional representation , the Hare quota is used, the other mandates are awarded according to the D'Hondt procedure . The mandates are distributed within the lists according to the droop quota . A threshold of 5% applies in the constituencies .
Results
Ten parties won seats in the Chamber of Deputies.
The official final result:
| Eligible voters | 7,570,337 | ||||
| votes cast | 6.936.801 | 91.63% | |||
| valid votes | 6,572,189 | 94.74% | |||
| be right | proportion of | +/- to 1999 | Seats | +/- to 1999 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VLD | 1.009.223 | 15.36% | +1.06% | 25th | +2 |
| SPA | 979.750 | 14.91% | + 5.37% | 23 | +9 |
| CD&V | 870.749 | 13.25% | −0.84% | 21st | −1 |
| PS | 855.992 | 13.02% | + 2.86% | 25th | +6 |
| VB | 761,407 | 11.59% | +1.72% | 18th | +3 |
| MR | 748,952 | 11.4% | +1.26% | 24 | +6 |
| CDH | 359,660 | 5.47% | −0.40% | 8th | −2 |
| N-VA | 201,399 | 3.06% | - | 1 | - |
| Ecolo | 201.118 | 3.06% | −4.29% | 4th | −7 |
| AGALEV | 162.205 | 2.47% | −4.52% | 0 | −9 |
| FN | 130.012 | 1.98% | +0.53% | 1 | ± 0 |
| VU ID | - | - | - | - | −8 |
- ↑ In the 2003 election as sp.a-spirit, 1999 as SP
- ↑ In the 2003 election as CD&V, 1999 as CVP
- ↑ In the 2003 election as MR, 1999 as PRL / FDF
- ^ In the 2003 election as CDH, 1999 as PSC
Senate (upper house)
In addition to the lower house deputies, 40 out of a total of 71 senators were directly elected. As in the European Parliament elections, the electorate was divided into two electoral colleges: the French-speaking college elected 15 senators and the Dutch-speaking 25 senators. In the Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde special constituency, the citizens themselves decided which college to choose by choosing a French-speaking or Dutch-speaking party wanted to belong. The Flemish and Walloon parliaments elect ten senators each, the parliament of the German-speaking community appoints one senator. Ten senators are co-opted, six from the Flemish-speaking senators and four from the French-speaking senators. At least one Flemish-speaking and six French-speaking senators must come from Brussels.
As in the Chamber, the Socialists improved significantly in both parts of the country, the Liberals recorded slight gains, the Greens suffered clear losses. The Vlaams Blok and the Front National each gained one seat in the Senate, while the CDH lost one seat.
The official final result:
| Eligible voters | 7,570,637 | ||||
| votes cast | 6,934,604 | 91.60% | |||
| valid votes | 6,551,511 | 94.48% | |||
| be right | proportion of | +/- to 1999 | Seats | +/- to 1999 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dutch Electoral College | |||||
| SPA | 1,013,560 | 15.47% | + 6.59% | 7th | +3 |
| VLD | 1,007,868 | 15.38% | + 0.01% | 7th | +1 |
| CD&V | 832.849 | 12.71% | −2.03% | 6th | ± 0 |
| VB | 741.940 | 11.32% | +1.91% | 5 | +1 |
| AGALEV | 161.024 | 2.46% | −4.62% | 0 | −3 |
| N-VA | 200.273 | 3.06% | - | 0 | - |
| VU ID | - | - | - | - | −2 |
| French electoral college | |||||
| PS | 840.908 | 12.84% | + 3.19% | 6th | +2 |
| MR | 795.757 | 12.15% | +1.58% | 5 | ± 0 |
| CDH | 362.705 | 5.54% | −0.49% | 2 | −1 |
| Ecolo | 208,868 | 3.19% | −4.21% | 1 | −2 |
| FN | 147.305 | 2.25% | + 0.75% | 1 | +1 |
- ↑ In the 2003 election as sp.a-spirit, 1999 as SP
- ↑ In the 2003 election as CD&V, 1999 as CVP
- ↑ In the 2003 election as MR, 1999 as PRL / FDF
- ^ No election in 2003 as CDH, 1999 as PSC
Government formation
The previous government , the so-called Rainbow Coalition, consisted of socialists (PS and SP-A), liberals (PRL-FDF and VLD) and Greens (Ecolo and Agalev). After the clear gains of socialists and liberals and the clear losses of the quarreling Greens, Guy Verhofstadt formed a new government made up of socialists and liberals without the Greens, called the violet coalition after the red and blue colors of the parties involved. The new cabinet was sworn in on July 12, 2003.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Der Fischer Weltalmanach 2004 . Fischer Taschenbuchverlag, Frankfurt am Main 2003, ISBN 3-596-72004-4 , Sp. 135-140 .
- ↑ Matthias Trefs: Belgium. In: Dieter Nohlen , Philipp Stöver (Ed.): Elections in Europe. A data handbook. Nomos, Baden-Baden 2010, ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7 , pp. 269-319.
- ↑ Official final result of the election to the Chamber of Deputies May 18, 2003. Federal Public Services "Home Affairs", accessed on November 10, 2019 .
- ↑ Résultat Election Chambre 18-05-2003 Royaume. Belgian Federal Government, accessed 9 November 2019 (French).
- ^ Official final result of the election to the Senate May 18, 2003. Federal Public Services "Interior", accessed on November 10, 2019 .
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↑ Résultat Élection Sénat 18-05-2003 Royaume. Belgian Federal Government, accessed on 10 November 2019 (French). Result of the Élection Sénat 18-05-2003 Collège électoral néerlandais. Belgian Federal Government, accessed on 10 November 2019 (French). Résultat Élection Sénat 18-05-2003 Collège électoral français. Belgian Federal Government, accessed on 10 November 2019 (French).