1958 Belgian general election (original) (raw)
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1958 Belgian general election
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|---|
| ← 1954 1 June 1958 1961 → |
| 212 seats in the Chamber of Representatives |
First party Second party Third party    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  9  2 4 Popular vote 2,465,549 1,897,646 585,999 Percentage 46.50% 35.79% 11.05% Swing 5.35% 1.55% 1.10% Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party Leader N/A Ernest Burnelle Frans Van der Elst Party LSK Communist 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  2 New Popular vote 111,284 100,145 104,823 Percentage 2.10% 1.89% 1.98% Swing 1.68% New |
 Chamber seat distribution by constituency |
| Government before election van Acker IV BSP/PSB-Lib Government after election G. Eyskens II Christian Social |
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.
Chamber of Deputies
[edit]
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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–Socialist 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 | – |
| Total | 5,302,353 | 100.00 | 212 | 0 |
| Valid votes | 5,302,353 | 95.11 | ||
| Invalid/blank votes | 272,774 | 4.89 | ||
| Total votes | 5,575,127 | 100.00 | ||
| Registered voters/turnout | 5,954,858 | 93.62 | ||
| Source: Nohlen & Stöver |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/– |
| Christian Social Party | 2,478,153 | 47.12 | 53 | +4 |
| Belgian Socialist Party | 1,886,242 | 35.87 | 40 | –2 |
| Liberal Party | 574,230 | 10.92 | 10 | –1 |
| Liberal–Socialist Kartels | 111,299 | 2.12 | 2 | 0 |
| Communist Party of Belgium | 100,788 | 1.92 | 1 | –1 |
| People's Union | 84,364 | 1.60 | 0 | 0 |
| Democratic Party | 23,953 | 0.46 | 0 | – |
| Independents | 0 | – | ||
| Total | 5,259,029 | 100.00 | 106 | 0 |
| Valid votes | 5,259,029 | 94.26 | ||
| Invalid/blank votes | 320,096 | 5.74 | ||
| Total votes | 5,579,125 | 100.00 | ||
| Registered voters/turnout | 5,954,858 | 93.69 | ||
| Source: Nohlen & Stöver, Belgian Elections[4] |
- ^ Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p289 ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7
- ^ Nohlen & Stöver, pp309-311
- ^ Nohlen & Stöver, p291
- ^ https://wahlergebnisse.belgium.be/de/election-results/senat/1958/k%C3%B6nigreich/162339