1999 Belgian federal election

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1999 Belgian federal election

← 1995 13 June 1999 (1999-06-13) 2003 →

All 150 seats in the Chamber of Representatives
40 of 71 seats in the Senate
respectively 76 and 36 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party Third party
 
Verhofstadt cropped.jpg
Deheane cropped..jpg
Di Rupo cropped.jpg
Leader Guy Verhofstadt Jean-Luc Dehaene Elio Di Rupo
Party Open Vld CVP PS
Leader since 1997 Candidate for PM 1999
Last election 21 seats, 13.1% 29 seats, 17.18% 21 seats, 11.87%
Seats before 21 29 21
Seats won 23 22 19
Seat change Increase2 Decrease7 Decrease2
Popular vote 888,861 875,455 631,653
Percentage 14.30% 14.09% 10.16%
Swing Increase1.15% Decrease3.09% Decrease1.71%

  Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party
 
Louis Michel (cropped).jpg
Frank Vanhecke.jpg
sp.a
Leader Louis Michel Frank Vanhecke Fred Erdman
Party MR VB sp.a
Leader since 1995 1996 1998
Last election 18 seats, 10.26% 11 seats, 7.83% 14 seats, 12.56%
Seats before 18 11 20
Seats won 18 15 14
Seat change Steady Increase4 Decrease6
Popular vote 630,219 613,399 593,372
Percentage 10.14% 9.87% 9.55%
Swing Decrease0.12% Increase2.04% Decrease3.01%

Belgian federal election 1999 - Chamber - circumscriptions.svg
Colours denote the winning party in each electoral district, as shown in the table of results.

Government before election

Dehaene II
CVP-PSC-PS-SP

Government after election

Verhofstadt I
VLD-PRL-PS-SP-Agalev-Ecolo

Federal elections were held in Belgium on June 13, 1999 to elect members of the Chamber of Representatives and Senate. The elections were held on the same day as the European elections and the regional elections. The Flemish Liberals and Democrats (VLD) became the largest party.

The Christian Democrats (CVP/PSC) suffered historic losses due to the dioxine affair that broke loose that year. Jean-Luc Dehaene's reign of eight years came to an end. Verhofstadt formed a six-party coalition comprising the liberal (VLD and PRL), socialist (SP and PS), and green parties (Agalev and Ecolo). It was the first liberal-led government since 1938, and the first since 1958 that didn't include a Christian Democratic party.

Chamber of Representatives[]

Belgian Chamber 1999.svg
Summary of the 13 June 1999 Belgian Chamber of Representatives election results
← 1995 • 1999 • 2003 →
Party Main ideology Leader(s) Votes % +/– E.c. % Seats +/–
Flemish Liberals and Democrats (VLD) Liberalism Guy Verhofstadt 888,861 14.30 1.15 Increase 23 2 Increase
Christian People's Party (CVP) Christian democracy 875,455 14.09 3.09 Decrease 22 7 Decrease
Socialist Party (Wallonia) (PS) Social democracy Elio Di Rupo 631,653 10.16 1.71 Decrease 19 2 Decrease
Liberal Reformist Party (PRL) + Democratic Front of Francophones (FDF) Liberalism Louis Michel 630,219 10.14 0.12 Decrease 18 0 Steady
Flemish Block (VB) Flemish nationalism Frank Vanhecke 613,399 9.87 2.04 Increase 15 4 Increase
Socialist Party (Flanders) (SP) Social democracy Fred Erdman 593,372 9.55 3.01 Decrease 14 6 Decrease
Confederated Ecologists (ECOLO) Green politics Isabelle Durant 457,281 7.36 3.35 Increase 11 5 Increase
Living Differently (AGALEV) Green politics Jos Geysels 434,449 6.99 2.56 Increase 9 4 Increase
Christian Social Party (PSC) Christian democracy Philippe Maystadt 365,318 5.88 1.85 Decrease 10 2 Decrease
People's Union–ID (VU-ID) Flemish nationalism Patrik Vankrunkelsven 345,576 5.56 0.86 Increase 8 3 Increase
National Front (FN) Nationalism 90,401 1.45 0.83 Decrease 1 1 Decrease
Vivant (VIVANT) Social liberalism Roland Duchâtelet 130,701 2.10 new
Others (parties that received less than 1% of the national vote) 157,389 2.53
Valid votes 6,214,074 93.44
Blank and invalid votes 435,941 6.56
Totals 6,650,015 100.00 150
Electorate and voter turnout 7,343,464 90.56
Source: 1999 Federal Election.

Senate[]

Senat1999.svg
Summary of the 13 June 1999 Belgian Senate election results
Parties Senate
Votes +/- % +/- Seats +/-
Flemish Liberals and Democrats (Vlaamse Liberalen en Democraten) 952,116 15.4 6 ± 0
Christian People's Party (Christelijke Volkspartij) 913,508 14.7 6 - 1
Liberal Reformist PartyDemocratic Front of Francophones (PRL–FDF) 654,961 10.6 5 ± 0
Socialist Party (Wallonia) (Parti Socialiste) 597,890 9.7 4 - 1
Flemish Block (Vlaams Blok) 583,208 9.4 4 + 1
Socialist Party (Flanders) (Socialistische Partij) 550,657 8.9 4 - 2
Ecolo 458,658 7.4 3 + 1
Agalev 438,931 7.1 3 + 2
Christian Social Party (Parti Social Chrétien) 374,002 6.0 3 ± 0
VU&ID 317,830 5.1 2 ± 0
Vivant (total) 123,498 2.0
National Front (Front National) 92,924 1.5
Workers Party of Belgium (total) 35,493 0.6
FNB (Front Nouveau de Belgique) 23,382 0.4
Communist Party (Parti Communiste) 21,991 0.4
PNPB (Paul Marchal) 26,124 0.5
Other 29,198 0.5
Total (turnout 90.6%) 6,194,371   100   40  
Source: IBZ.
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