electionstracker

Belgium 1985 federal election

What was the result of the 1985 federal election in Belgium?

Flemish Christian Peoples Party / Christian Democrats & Flemish won 49 of 212 seats with 21.3% of the vote. 93.6% 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 49 of 212 seats with 21.3% of the vote; 93.6% of registered voters cast a ballot, down 1.0 points on 1981.

  • Flemish Christian Peoples Party / Christian Democrats & Flemish 49 +6 seats 21.3% +2.0 points
  • Socialist Party 32 +6 seats 14.6% +2.1 points
  • Socialist Party 35 0 seats 13.8% +1.1 points
  • Party of Liberty and Progress / Flemish Liberals and Democrats 22 −6 seats 10.8% −2.1 points
  • Liberal Reformist Party 24 0 seats 10.2% +1.6 points
  • Humanist Democratic Centre 20 +2 seats 8.0% +0.8 points
  • People's Union 16 −4 seats 7.9% −1.9 points
  • Groen 4 +2 seats 3.7% +1.4 points
  • Ecolo 5 +3 seats 2.5% 0.0 points
  • Flemish Block / Flemish Interest 1 0 seats 1.4% +0.3 points
  • Francophone Democratic Front 3 −3 seats 1.2% −1.3 points
  • Respect for Labour 1 −2 seats 1.1% −1.6 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 1981 federal election, party by party.

107 of 212 seats make a majority

Key numbers

  1. 21.3%

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

    Flemish Christian Peoples Party / Christian Democrats & Flemish won 49 of 212 seats. A majority needs 107.

  2. +6 seats

    Seats gained by Flemish Christian Peoples Party / Christian Democrats & Flemish

    The largest gain in seats compared with 1981. Party of Liberty and Progress / Flemish Liberals and Democrats lost 6 seats.

  3. 93.6%

    Voter turnout

    Down 1.0 points on 1981.

Seats and votes by party

PartySeats± seats%± pointsVotes
Flemish Christian Peoples Party / Christian Democrats & Flemish49+621.3+2.01,291,244
Socialist Party32+614.6+2.1882,200
Socialist Party35013.8+1.1834,488
Party of Liberty and Progress / Flemish Liberals and Democrats22−610.8−2.1651,806
Liberal Reformist Party24010.2+1.6619,390
Humanist Democratic Centre20+28.0+0.8482,254
People's Union16−47.9−1.9477,755
Groen4+23.7+1.4226,758
Ecolo5+32.50.0152,483
Flemish Block / Flemish Interest101.4+0.385,391
Francophone Democratic Front3−31.2−1.372,361
Communist Party of Belgium0−21.2−1.171,695
Respect for Labour1−21.1−1.669,707

± is the change against the Belgium 1981 federal election, party by party.

Votes by party
  • Flemish Christian Peoples Party / Christian Democrats & Flemish 1,291,244
  • Socialist Party 882,200
  • Socialist Party 834,488
  • Party of Liberty and Progress / Flemish Liberals and Democrats 651,806
  • Liberal Reformist Party 619,390
  • Humanist Democratic Centre 482,254
  • People's Union 477,755
  • Groen 226,758
  • Ecolo 152,483
  • Flemish Block / Flemish Interest 85,391
  • Francophone Democratic Front 72,361
  • Communist Party of Belgium 71,695
  • Respect for Labour 69,707

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?

93.6% of the 7,001,297 registered voters cast a ballot (6,552,234 ballots), down 1.0 points on 1981. 6,064,260 of them were valid votes. The lowest turnout since 1974 in our data.

How do the votes compare with the seats?

  • Flemish Christian Peoples Party / Christian Democrats & Flemish21.3% of votes23.1% of seats
  • Socialist Party13.8% of votes16.5% of seats
  • Socialist Party14.6% of votes15.1% of seats
  • Liberal Reformist Party10.2% of votes11.3% of seats
  • Party of Liberty and Progress / Flemish Liberals and Democrats10.8% of votes10.4% of seats
  • Humanist Democratic Centre8.0% of votes9.4% of seats
  • People's Union7.9% of votes7.5% of seats
  • Ecolo2.5% of votes2.4% of seats
  • Groen3.7% of votes1.9% of seats
  • Francophone Democratic Front1.2% of votes1.4% of seats
  • Flemish Block / Flemish Interest1.4% of votes0.5% of seats
  • Respect for Labour1.1% of votes0.5% of seats
Each party's share of the vote (outlined) and of the seats (filled)

The Gallagher index of disproportionality is 3.2 (0 when seats follow votes exactly); the effective number of parties is 8.2 by votes and 7.0 by seats; Flemish Christian Peoples Party / Christian Democrats & Flemish led Socialist Party by 6.7 points of the vote.

Time and source Data as of