electionstracker

Belgium 1978 federal election

What was the result of the 1978 federal election in Belgium?

Flemish Christian Peoples Party / Christian Democrats & Flemish won 57 of 212 seats with 26.1% of the vote. 94.9% 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 : Flemish Christian Peoples Party / Christian Democrats & Flemish won 57 of 212 seats with 26.1% of the vote; 94.9% of registered voters cast a ballot, down 0.2 points on 1977.

  • Flemish Christian Peoples Party / Christian Democrats & Flemish 57 +1 seat 26.1% −0.1 points
  • Socialist Party 32 13.0%
  • Socialist Party 26 12.4%
  • Party of Liberty and Progress / Flemish Liberals and Democrats 22 +5 seats 10.3% +1.8 points
  • Humanist Democratic Centre 25 +1 seat 10.1% +0.3 points
  • People's Union 14 −6 seats 7.0% −3.0 points
  • Francophone Democratic Front 11 +1 seat 4.2% −0.1 points
  • Communist Party of Belgium 4 +2 seats 3.3% +0.6 points
  • Walloon Rally 4 −1 seat 2.9% −0.1 points
  • Flemish Block / Flemish Interest 1 1.4%
  • Respect for Labour 1 0.9%
  • Liberal Reformist Party 14 0 seats 5.9% −1.1 points
  • 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 1977 federal election, party by party.

107 of 212 seats make a majority

Key numbers

  1. 26.1%

    Share of the vote won by Flemish Christian Peoples Party / Christian Democrats & Flemish

    Flemish Christian Peoples Party / Christian Democrats & Flemish won 57 of 212 seats. A majority needs 107.

  2. +5 seats

    Seats gained by Party of Liberty and Progress / Flemish Liberals and Democrats

    The largest gain in seats compared with 1977. People's Union lost 6 seats.

  3. 94.9%

    Voter turnout

    Down 0.2 points on 1977.

Seats and votes by party

PartySeats± seats%± pointsVotes
Flemish Christian Peoples Party / Christian Democrats & Flemish57+126.1−0.11,446,056
Socialist Party3213.0719,926
Socialist Party2612.4684,465
Party of Liberty and Progress / Flemish Liberals and Democrats22+510.3+1.8572,220
Humanist Democratic Centre25+110.1+0.3560,565
People's Union14−67.0−3.0388,368
Francophone Democratic Front11+14.2−0.1235,152
Communist Party of Belgium4+23.3+0.6181,921
Walloon Rally4−12.9−0.1158,563
Flemish Block / Flemish Interest11.475,864
Respect for Labour10.948,611
Workers' Party of Belgium000.8+0.443,483
Liberal Reformist Party1405.9−1.133,098
Liberal Party [Brussels Region]1−1

± is the change against the Belgium 1977 federal election, party by party.

Votes by party
  • Flemish Christian Peoples Party / Christian Democrats & Flemish 1,446,056
  • Socialist Party 719,926
  • Socialist Party 684,465
  • Party of Liberty and Progress / Flemish Liberals and Democrats 572,220
  • Humanist Democratic Centre 560,565
  • People's Union 388,368
  • Francophone Democratic Front 235,152
  • Communist Party of Belgium 181,921
  • Walloon Rally 158,563
  • Flemish Block / Flemish Interest 75,864
  • Respect for Labour 48,611
  • Workers' Party of Belgium 43,483
  • Liberal Reformist Party 33,098
  • Liberal Party [Brussels Region]

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?

94.9% of the 6,366,655 registered voters cast a ballot (6,042,689 ballots), down 0.2 points on 1977. 5,535,631 of them were valid votes.

How do the votes compare with the seats?

  • Flemish Christian Peoples Party / Christian Democrats & Flemish26.1% of votes26.9% of seats
  • Socialist Party13.0% of votes15.1% of seats
  • Socialist Party12.4% of votes12.3% of seats
  • Humanist Democratic Centre10.1% of votes11.8% of seats
  • Party of Liberty and Progress / Flemish Liberals and Democrats10.3% of votes10.4% of seats
  • People's Union7.0% of votes6.6% of seats
  • Liberal Reformist Party5.9% of votes6.6% of seats
  • Francophone Democratic Front4.2% of votes5.2% of seats
  • Communist Party of Belgium3.3% of votes1.9% of seats
  • Walloon Rally2.9% of votes1.9% of seats
  • Flemish Block / Flemish Interest1.4% of votes0.5% of seats
  • Respect for Labour0.9% of votes0.5% of seats
Each party's share of the vote (outlined) and of the seats (filled)

The Gallagher index of disproportionality is 2.7 (0 when seats follow votes exactly); the effective number of parties is 7.5 by votes and 6.8 by seats; Flemish Christian Peoples Party / Christian Democrats & Flemish led Socialist Party by 13.1 points of the vote.

Time and source Data as of