2024 Belgian federal election
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All 150 seats in the Chamber of Representatives 76 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 87.42% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.
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 Belgium portal |
Federal elections were held in Belgium on 9 June 2024.[1] 150 members of the Chamber of Representatives were elected for a five-year term. European and regional elections took place on the same day.[2]
Background[edit]
After a lengthy government formation spanning 494 days, the 2019 Belgian federal election eventually resulted in the formation of a government led by prime minister Alexander De Croo, consisting of a so-called Vivaldi coalition. The government replaced a government led by Sophie Wilmès, which was a caretaker minority government with emergency plenary powers given by the opposition to deal with the COVID-19 outbreak.
Electoral system[edit]
The 150 members of the Chamber of Representatives are elected in 11 multi-member constituencies, being the ten provinces and Brussels, with between 4 and 24 seats.[3] Seats are allocated using the D'Hondt method, with an electoral threshold of 5% per constituency.[4]
87 Representatives elected from the five Flemish Region provinces, Antwerp (24), East Flanders (20), Flemish Brabant (15), Limburg (12) and West Flanders (16), automatically belonged to the Dutch-speaking language group in parliament, whereas those 47 elected from the five provinces of Wallonia, Hainaut (17), Liège (14), Luxembourg (4), Namur (7) and Walloon Brabant (5), formed the French-speaking language group. The 16 members elected in Brussels can choose to join either group. Apportionment of seats is done every ten years in accordance with population data, last by royal order in 2022, when Brussels and Namur each gained a seat while Hainaut and Liège lost a seat.[5]
The 60-member Senate is composed of 50 representatives from the regional and community parliaments, plus 10 co-opted senators proportionally divided among parties based on the result of the federal election.[3]
All Belgian citizens aged 18 or over are obligated to participate in the election. Non-Belgian citizens residing in Belgium (regardless of EU citizenship) cannot vote, whereas Belgian citizens living abroad can register to vote.[6]
Voting is done electronically in all 19 Brussels and nine German-speaking municipalities, as well as in 159 Flemish municipalities. Voting is done by paper ballot in 141 Flemish municipalities as well as in all 253 (non-German-speaking) Walloon municipalities.[4]
Timetable[edit]
| 9 February | Start of the "waiting period" (sperperiode) running until the day of the election, during which political propaganda and expenses are strictly regulated |
| 1 April | The electoral roll is fixed by municipal authorities and available for scrutiny[6] |
| 13 April | Deadline for submitting candidate lists[7] |
| TBD | The Parliament is formally dissolved |
| 25 May | Final day for the official announcement of the election and the convocation letter to voters[6] |
| 5 June | Polling day for Belgians residing abroad in the embassies and consular posts[6] |
| 9 June | Polling day (from 8am until 2pm, or until 4pm where voting is done electronically) |
| TBD | Constitutive session of the newly elected Chamber of Representatives |
Parties and leaders[edit]
Parties running[edit]
The following parties running have seats in the Chamber of Representatives.
Other political parties[edit]
| Party | Ideology | Political position | Constituency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blanco Party | Single-issue | Centrism | Flemish and Walloon constituencies |
| Belgische Unie – Union Belge | Royalism | Centrism | Flemish and Walloon constituencies |
| L'Unie | Unitarism | Centrism | Flemish and Walloon constituencies |
| Alternatief 2024 | Participatory democracy | Centrism | Only in Flemish Brabant |
| BoerBurgerBelangen | Agrarianism | Centre-right | Flemish constituencies |
| DierAnimal | Animal welfare | Centre-left | Only in Antwerp |
| Gezond Verstand | Liberalism
Anti-Flemish independence |
Centre-right | Only in East Flanders |
| Volt | Social liberalism | Centre-left | All constituencies |
| VoorU | Liberalism | Right | Flemish constituencies |
| Collectif Citoyen | Participatory democracy | Centre | Walloon constituencies |
| Chez Nous | Anti-immigration | Far-right | Walloon constituencies |
| Team Fouad Ahidar | Minority interests | Centre | Only in Brussels |
| Agora | Participatory democracy | Centre | Walloon constituencies |
| Lutte Ouvrière | Trotskyism | Far-left | Walloon constituencies |
Lead candidates[edit]
The following candidates are the first on the respective party list (lijsttrekker / tête de liste) per constituency.
Dutch-speaking constituencies[edit]
French-speaking constituencies[edit]
Hainaut will feature three party chairmen (Bouchez for MR, Magnette for PS and Nollet for Ecolo) as well as popular ex-MR ex-minister Crucke for Les Engagés. In Namur, three federal deputy prime ministers will run against each other (Dermagne for PS, Gilkinet for Ecolo and Clarinval for MR).[10] The right-wing Flemish nationalist N-VA party is also fielding candidates in Wallonia for the first time.[11]
Retiring incumbents[edit]
The following members of the federal parliament are not standing for election in June 2024.
- Patrick Dewael (Open Vld)[13]
- Valerie Van Peel (N-VA)[13]
- Maggie De Block (Open Vld) [13]
- Barbara Creemers (Groen) [citation needed]
- Wouter De Vriendt (Groen) [citation needed]
- Kristof Calvo (Groen), though he later announced he will support the Ecolo list in Hainaut, without aiming to be elected[14]
- Steven Creyelman (Vlaams Belang)
- Meryame Kitir (Vooruit) [citation needed]
- Jessika Soors (Groen) [citation needed]
Opinion polls[edit]
Flanders[edit]
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Wallonia[edit]
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Brussels[edit]
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Results[edit]
The results saw the New Flemish Alliance remain the largest party in parliament, while the incumbent coalition government led by Prime Minister Alexander De Croo and his Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats held on to its majority by only one seat, despite the latter party falling to ninth place in the election tally. The Reformist Movement emerged as the largest party in Brussels and Wallonia.[15]
 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Votes | % | +/– | Seats | +/– | |
| New Flemish Alliance | 1,167,061 | 16.71 | +0.68 | 24 | –1 | |
| Vlaams Belang | 961,601 | 13.77 | +1.82 | 20 | +2 | |
| Reformist Movement | 716,934 | 10.26 | +2.70 | 20 | +6 | |
| Workers' Party of Belgium | 688,369 | 9.86 | +1.23 | 15 | +3 | |
| Vooruit | 566,436 | 8.11 | +1.40 | 13 | +4 | |
| Socialist Party | 561,602 | 8.04 | –1.42 | 16 | –4 | |
| Christian Democratic and Flemish | 557,392 | 7.98 | –0.91 | 11 | –1 | |
| Les Engagés | 472,755 | 6.77 | +3.07 | 14 | +9 | |
| Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats | 380,659 | 5.45 | –3.09 | 7 | –5 | |
| Groen | 324,608 | 4.65 | –1.46 | 6 | –2 | |
| Ecolo | 204,438 | 2.93 | –3.22 | 3 | –10 | |
| DéFI | 84,024 | 1.20 | –1.02 | 1 | –1 | |
| Blanco Party | 75,683 | 1.08 | New | 0 | New | |
| Chez Nous | 64,058 | 0.92 | New | 0 | New | |
| Voor U | 43,346 | 0.62 | New | 0 | New | |
| Collectif Citoyen | 35,706 | 0.51 | +0.20 | 0 | 0 | |
| Team Fouad Ahidar | 24,826 | 0.36 | New | 0 | New | |
| Belgische Unie – Union Belge | 15,780 | 0.23 | New | 0 | New | |
| DierAnimal | 10,341 | 0.15 | –0.56 | 0 | 0 | |
| Volt Belgium | 7,245 | 0.10 | +0.08 | 0 | 0 | |
| Lutte Ouvrière | 6,552 | 0.09 | +0.01 | 0 | 0 | |
| L'Unie | 5,640 | 0.08 | New | 0 | New | |
| Reprise en Main Citoyenne | 4,025 | 0.06 | New | 0 | New | |
| Agora | 3,473 | 0.05 | New | 0 | New | |
| Gezond Verstand | 2,352 | 0.03 | New | 0 | New | |
| Total | 6,984,906 | 100.00 | – | 150 | 0 | |
| Valid votes | 6,984,906 | 94.37 | ||||
| Invalid/blank votes | 416,577 | 5.63 | ||||
| Total votes | 7,401,483 | 100.00 | ||||
| Registered voters/turnout | 8,368,029 | 88.45 | ||||
| Source: IBZ | ||||||
Aftermath[edit]
Following the release of the election results, Alexander De Croo announced his resignation as Prime Minister effective on 10 June. After this, he will remain as caretaker prime minister until a new federal government is formed. Tom Ongena also announced his resignation as party leader, and ruled out Open Vld's participation in the next government. Of the French-speaking parties, François De Smet, chair of Défi, and Paul Magnette, president of PS, also submitted their resignation, though Magnette's resignation was rejected by the party's board.[16]
The New Flemish Alliance's (N-VA) Bart De Wever claimed victory. Even though Vlaams Belang came second, its leader Tom Van Grieken expressed disappointment, as the party was expected to overtake N-VA to become the biggest in Flanders. In Wallonia, Reformist Movement's (MR) president Georges-Louis Bouchez emphasized the electorate's willingness for change, after his party gained more votes than PS for the first time in decades.[15][17]
According to political analysts, the most obvious federal coalition would consist of the right-wing N-VA and MR, and left-wing Vooruit, with the centrist CD&V and Les Engagés parties to reach at least 76 seats. Other coalitions are ruled out, following the decision of Open Vld and PS to be part of the opposition. Vlaams Belang is not expected to be part of the government at any level, due to the cordon sanitaire.[18][19]
Exploratory coalition talks started on 10 June, the day after the elections. As is tradition, party leaders are individually invited to an audience with the King, starting with the biggest parties.[20] On 11 June, the MR and Les Engagés announced a preliminary agreement to form a government in the Walloon parliament, following the regional elections. As part of the agreement, the two parties would form a partnership during government formation talks at the federal level.[21]
References[edit]
- ^ "Quand auront lieu les prochaines elections". IBZ Elections. Archived from the original on 4 December 2023. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
- ^ Belga (17 May 2023). "Kogel is door de kerk: op zondag 9 juni 2024 trekken we naar de stembus". vrtnws.be (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 17 May 2023. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
- ^ a b Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (23–26 January 2024). Federal Elections, 9 June 2024 (PDF) (Report). p. 4. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 June 2024. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
- ^ a b Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights 2024, p. 5.
- ^ "Brussel krijgt extra volksvertegenwoordiger bij verkiezingen 2024". BRUZZ. 23 November 2022. Archived from the original on 17 May 2023. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
- ^ a b c d Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights 2024, p. 6.
- ^ Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights 2024, p. 7.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Definitieve afsluiting van de kandidatenlijsten". Ministry of the Interior (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 19 April 2024. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
- ^ "Candidates 2024". Volt België. Archived from the original on 9 April 2024. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
- ^ "Ces combats qui vont animer les élections du 9 juin". L'Echo. 13 January 2024. Archived from the original on 28 January 2024. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
- ^ Clapson, Colin (4 December 2023). "N-VA to stand in Wallonia: "Belgium is not a democracy"". vrtnws.be. Archived from the original on 10 June 2024. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
- ^ "EXCLUSIEF. N-VA wil in Wallonië opkomen". Het Laatste Nieuws. 2 December 2023. Archived from the original on 3 December 2023. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
- ^ a b c "Deze politici kondigden al aan dat ze niet terugkeren in het Parlement". De Standaard. 21 April 2023. Archived from the original on 16 May 2023. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
- ^ "Kristof Calvo (Groen) wordt lijstduwer van zusterpartij Ecolo in Henegouwen: "Ik ambieer geen zetel"". VRT NWS. 22 January 2024. Archived from the original on 28 January 2024. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
- ^ a b O'Carroll, Lisa. "Belgium headed for new government as PM set to resign after general election". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 10 June 2024. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
- ^ "Post-Belgian Elections Live: PS leader tries to resign, MR wants to form government soon". 10 June 2024. Archived from the original on 12 June 2024. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
- ^ Haeck, Pieter; Gijs, Camille; Jack, Victor (9 June 2024). "Belgium drifts to the right — but not far right". Archived from the original on 10 June 2024. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
- ^ Walker, Lauren (10 June 2024). "Long road ahead or quick decisions: What possible coalitions can be formed?". Archived from the original on 10 June 2024. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
- ^ ""Federal coalition puzzle can be solved quickly, but N-VA will have to make choices"". 11 June 2024. Archived from the original on 12 June 2024. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
- ^ Chini, Maïthé (9 June 2024). "Now what? How Belgium's government formation works". Archived from the original on 11 June 2024. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
- ^ "Post-Elections Live (day two): Wallonia reaches government agreement". 11 June 2024. Archived from the original on 11 June 2024. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
