1958 Belgian general election

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1958 Belgian general election
← 1954 1 June 1958 1961 →
212 seats in the Chamber of Representatives
  First party Second party Third party
  Gaston Eyskens (1969).jpg Achille Van Acker.jpg No image.png
Leader Gaston Eyskens Achille Van Acker Maurice Destenay
Party Christian Social Socialist Liberal
Leader since Candidate for PM Candidate for PM 1954
Last election 95 seats, 41.15% 82 seats, 37.34% 24 seats, 12.15%
Seats won 104 80 20
Seat change Increase 9 Decrease 2 Decrease 4
Popular vote 2,465,549 1,897,646 585,999
Percentage 46.50% 35.79% 11.05%
Swing Increase 5.35% Decrease 1.55% Decrease 1.10%
  Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party
  No image.png No image.png No image.png
Leader N/A Ernest Burnelle Frans Van der Elst
Party LSK PVDA-PTB VU
Leader since N/A 1954 1955
Last election 5 seats, 2.10% 4 seats, 3.57% New
Seats won 5 2 1
Seat change Steady Decrease 2 New
Popular vote 111,284 100,145 104,823
Percentage 2.10% 1.89% 1.98%
Swing Steady Decrease 1.68% New
1958 Belgian legislative election results map.svg
Chamber seat distribution by constituency
Government before election

van Acker IV
BSP/PSB-Lib

Government after election

G. Eyskens II
Christian Social

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General elections were held in Belgium on 1 June 1958.[1] The result was a victory for the Christian Social Party, which won 104 of the 212 seats in the Chamber of Representatives and 53 of the 106 seats in the Senate.[2] Voter turnout was 93.6% in the Chamber election and 93.7% in the Senate election.[3] Elections for the nine provincial councils were also held.

The election took place in a political crisis known as the Second School War. The outgoing anti-clerical "purple" government of the Socialist and Liberal Party, led by Achille Van Acker, reversed policies of the previous Catholic-led government regarding private schools. The Van Acker government lost the election, leading again to a Catholic government led by Gaston Eyskens. That government, which was a few seats short of a majority in the Chamber, would be the last single-party government in Belgian history. Later in 1958, the School War was ended by a cross-party agreement and the Liberal Party joined the government.

Results[]

Chamber of Deputies[]

Belgian Chamber 1958.svg
Party Votes % Seats +/–
Christian Social Party 2,465,549 46.50 104 +9
Belgian Socialist Party 1,897,646 35.79 80 –2
Liberal Party 585,999 11.05 20 –4
Liberal-Soclialist Kartels 111,284 2.10 5 0
People's Union 104,823 1.98 1 New
Communist Party of Belgium 100,145 1.89 2 –2
Other parties 36,907 0.70 0 –
Invalid/blank votes 272,774 – – –
Total 5,575,127 100 212 0
Registered voters/turnout 5,954,858 93.62 – –
Source: Nohlen & Stöver

Senate[]

Belgium Senate 1958.svg
Party Votes % Seats +/–
Christian Social Party 2,390,368 45.45 53 +4
Belgian Socialist Party 1,886,242 35.87 40 –2
Liberal Party 574,230 10.92 10 –1
Liberal-Soclialist Kartels 111,299 2.12 2 0
Communist Party of Belgium 100,788 1.92 1 –1
People's Union 79,198 1.51 0 0
Democratic Party 11,309 0.22 0 New
Independents 16,145 3.07 0
Invalid/blank votes 320,096 – – –
Total 5,579,125 100 106 0
Registered voters/turnout 5,954,858 93.69 – –
Source: Belgian Elections

References[]

  1. ^ Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p289 ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7
  2. ^ Nohlen & Stöver, pp309-311
  3. ^ Nohlen & Stöver, p291
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