electionstracker

Belgium 1971 federal election

What was the result of the 1971 federal election in Belgium?

Belgian Socialist Party won 61 of 212 seats with 27.2% of the vote. 91.5% of registered voters cast a ballot.

  • Belgium
  • Held:
  • Final result
  • ParlGov, read 5 October 2026

Which party won the most seats?

Final results from ParlGov, read : Belgian Socialist Party won 61 of 212 seats with 27.2% of the vote; 91.5% of registered voters cast a ballot, up 1.5 points on 1968.

  • Belgian Socialist Party 61 +2 seats 27.2% −0.8 points
  • Flemish Christian Peoples Party / Christian Democrats & Flemish 47 −3 seats 19.7% −0.3 points
  • People's Union 21 +1 seat 11.1% +1.3 points
  • Humanist Democratic Centre 20 +1 seat 10.4% −1.3 points
  • Party of Liberty and Progress / Flemish Liberals and Democrats 20 9.5%
  • Walloon Rally 14 +9 seats 6.7% +3.3 points
  • Liberal Reformist Party 11 5.7%
  • Francophone Democratic Front 10 +3 seats 4.5% +2.0 points
  • Communist Party of Belgium 5 0 seats 3.1% −0.2 points
  • Liberal Party [Brussels Region] 3 1.3%
  • Seats won
  • Change on the previous election at the right
  • Share of the vote
  • Share at the previous election
  • Change in points at the right

Changes are against the Belgium 1968 federal election, party by party.

107 of 212 seats make a majority

Key numbers

  1. 27.2%

    Share of the vote won by Belgian Socialist Party

    Belgian Socialist Party won 61 of 212 seats. A majority needs 107.

  2. +9 seats

    Seats gained by Walloon Rally

    The largest gain in seats compared with 1968. Flemish Christian Peoples Party / Christian Democrats & Flemish lost 3 seats.

  3. 91.5%

    Voter turnout

    Up 1.5 points on 1968.

Seats and votes by party

PartySeats± seats%± pointsVotes
Belgian Socialist Party61+227.2−0.81,438,626
Flemish Christian Peoples Party / Christian Democrats & Flemish47−319.7−0.31,038,998
People's Union21+111.1+1.3586,917
Humanist Democratic Centre20+110.4−1.3548,197
Party of Liberty and Progress / Flemish Liberals and Democrats209.5500,614
Walloon Rally14+96.7+3.3353,416
Liberal Reformist Party115.7299,089
Francophone Democratic Front10+34.5+2.0239,829
Communist Party of Belgium503.1−0.2161,517
Liberal Party [Brussels Region]31.369,139
Largest party without seats00.422,919

± is the change against the Belgium 1968 federal election, party by party.

Votes by party
  • Belgian Socialist Party 1,438,626
  • Flemish Christian Peoples Party / Christian Democrats & Flemish 1,038,998
  • People's Union 586,917
  • Humanist Democratic Centre 548,197
  • Party of Liberty and Progress / Flemish Liberals and Democrats 500,614
  • Walloon Rally 353,416
  • Liberal Reformist Party 299,089
  • Francophone Democratic Front 239,829
  • Communist Party of Belgium 161,517
  • Liberal Party [Brussels Region] 69,139
  • Largest party without seats 22,919

ParlGov lists parties with at least 1 percent of the vote or 2 seats, so the rows do not add up to the valid votes.

How many people voted?

91.5% of the 6,271,240 registered voters cast a ballot (5,741,268 ballots), up 1.5 points on 1968. 5,281,631 of them were valid votes.

How do the votes compare with the seats?

  • Belgian Socialist Party27.2% of votes28.8% of seats
  • Flemish Christian Peoples Party / Christian Democrats & Flemish19.7% of votes22.2% of seats
  • People's Union11.1% of votes9.9% of seats
  • Humanist Democratic Centre10.4% of votes9.4% of seats
  • Party of Liberty and Progress / Flemish Liberals and Democrats9.5% of votes9.4% of seats
  • Walloon Rally6.7% of votes6.6% of seats
  • Liberal Reformist Party5.7% of votes5.2% of seats
  • Francophone Democratic Front4.5% of votes4.7% of seats
  • Communist Party of Belgium3.1% of votes2.4% of seats
  • Liberal Party [Brussels Region]1.3% of votes1.4% of seats
Each party's share of the vote (outlined) and of the seats (filled)

The Gallagher index of disproportionality is 2.4 (0 when seats follow votes exactly); the effective number of parties is 6.4 by votes and 5.9 by seats; Belgian Socialist Party led Flemish Christian Peoples Party / Christian Democrats & Flemish by 7.5 points of the vote.

Time and source Data as of