1961 Belgian general election
|
|
|
212 seats in the Chamber of Representatives |
| |
First party |
Second party |
Third party |
| |
 |
150x150px |
 |
| Leader |
Théo Lefèvre |
Léo Collard |
Roger Motz |
| Party |
[[Christian Social Party (Belgium, defunct)|Template:Christian Social Party (Belgium, defunct)/meta/shortname]] |
Socialist |
Liberal |
| Leader since |
Candidate for PM |
1959 |
1958 |
| Last election |
104 seats, 46.50% |
80 seats, 35.79% |
20 seats, 11.05% |
| Seats won |
96 |
84 |
20 |
| Seat change |
 8 |
 4 |
 |
| Popular vote |
2,182,642 |
1,933,424 |
649,376 |
| Percentage |
41.46% |
36.72% |
12.33% |
| Swing |
5.04% |
0.93% |
1.28% |
|
| |
Fourth party |
Fifth party |
Sixth party |
| |
|
|
|
| Leader |
Frans Van der Elst |
Ernest Burnelle |
Jean-Marie Evrard |
| Party |
VU |
Communist |
RN |
| Leader since |
1955 |
1954 |
1959 |
| Last election |
1 seat, 1.98% |
2 seats, 1.89% |
New |
| Seats won |
5 |
5 |
1 |
| Seat change |
4 |
3 |
New |
| Popular vote |
182,407 |
162,238 |
42,450 |
| Percentage |
3.46% |
3.08% |
0.81% |
| Swing |
1.48% |
1.19% |
New |
|
|
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
General elections were held in Belgium on 26 March 1961.[1] The result was a victory for the Christian Social Party, which won 96 of the 212 seats in the Chamber of Representatives and 47 of the 106 seats in the Senate.[2] Voter turnout was 92.3%.[3] Elections for the nine provincial councils were also held.
Prior to the elections, the centre-right government of the Christian Social and Liberal Party led by Gaston Eyskens pushed through austerity measures with a law known as the Eenheidswet or Loi Unique, despite heavy strikes in the preceding weeks, especially in Wallonia. After the elections, the Christian Democrats formed a new government with the Socialist Party instead of the Liberal Party, with Théo Lefèvre as Prime Minister.
Results
Chamber of Deputies
|
|
| Party |
Votes |
% |
Seats |
+/– |
| Christian Social Party |
2,182,642 |
41.46 |
96 |
–8 |
| Belgian Socialist Party |
1,933,424 |
36.72 |
84 |
+4 |
| Liberal Party |
649,376 |
12.33 |
20 |
0 |
| People's Union |
182,407 |
3.46 |
5 |
+4 |
| Communist Party of Belgium |
162,238 |
3.08 |
5 |
+3 |
| National Rally |
42,450 |
0.81 |
1 |
New |
| Independent Party |
33,174 |
0.63 |
0 |
New |
| National Union of Independents |
12,252 |
0.23 |
0 |
New |
| National Party |
4,375 |
0.08 |
0 |
New |
| Liberal Dissidents |
3,956 |
0.08 |
0 |
New |
| Walloon Unity |
3,466 |
0.07 |
0 |
New |
| Alleenstaande |
3,101 |
0.06 |
0 |
New |
| Zelfstandig |
2,307 |
0.04 |
0 |
New |
| Francophone Bloc |
1,824 |
0.03 |
0 |
New |
| Gekavemus |
604 |
0.01 |
0 |
New |
| Independent Workers |
551 |
0.01 |
0 |
New |
| Universal People |
480 |
0.01 |
0 |
New |
| EC Group |
154 |
0.00 |
0 |
New |
| Independents |
46,244 |
0.88 |
1 |
– |
| Invalid/blank votes |
308,815 |
– |
– |
– |
| Total |
5,573,840 |
100 |
212 |
0 |
| Registered voters/turnout |
6,036,165 |
92.34 |
– |
– |
| Source: Belgian Elections |
Senate
|
|
| Party |
Votes |
% |
Seats |
+/– |
| Christian Social Party |
2,200,323 |
42.12 |
47 |
–6 |
| Belgian Socialist Party |
1,924,605 |
36.84 |
45 |
+5 |
| Liberal Party |
637,922 |
12.20 |
11 |
+1 |
| Communist Party of Belgium |
163,576 |
3.13 |
1 |
0 |
| People's Union |
159,096 |
3.05 |
2 |
+2 |
| National Movement |
26,211 |
0.65 |
0 |
New |
| Independent Party |
21,421 |
0.41 |
0 |
New |
| National Union of Independents |
21,421 |
0.41 |
0 |
New |
| Liberal Dissidents |
7,711 |
0.15 |
0 |
New |
| National Rally |
5,425 |
0.10 |
0 |
New |
| National Party |
4,457 |
0.09 |
0 |
New |
| Walloon Unity |
3,478 |
0.07 |
0 |
New |
| Francophone Bloc |
1,947 |
0.04 |
0 |
New |
| Independents |
36,646 |
0.70 |
0 |
0 |
| Invalid/blank votes |
349,475 |
– |
– |
– |
| Total |
5,573,982 |
100 |
106 |
0 |
| Registered voters/turnout |
6,036,165 |
92.34 |
– |
– |
| Source: Belgian Elections |
References
