General elections were held in
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
on 13 December 1987 to elect members of the
Chamber of Representatives and
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
. Elections to the nine
provincial
Provincial may refer to:
Government & Administration
* Provincial capitals, an administrative sub-national capital of a country
* Provincial city (disambiguation)
* Provincial minister (disambiguation)
* Provincial Secretary, a position in Can ...
councils were also held.
The snap elections were called after the government led by
Wilfried Martens
Wilfried Achiel Emma Martens (; 19 April 1936 – 9 October 2013) was a Belgian politician who served as prime minister of Belgium from 1979 to 1981 and from 1981 to 1992. A member of the Flemish Christian People's Party, during his premiership ...
(CVP) fell due to the
Voeren
Voeren (; ) is a Flanders, Flemish Dutch language, Dutch-speaking Municipalities of Belgium, municipality with Municipalities with language facilities, facilities for the Walloons, French-speaking minority, located in the Belgium, Belgian provi ...
issue.
Following the election, the King appointed
Jean-Luc Dehaene
Jean Luc Joseph Marie "Jean-Luc" Dehaene (; 7 August 1940 – 15 May 2014) was a Belgian politician who served as the prime minister of Belgium from 1992 until 1999. During his political career, he was nicknamed "The Plumber" and "The Minesweep ...
(CVP) as
informateur
A formateur (French for "someone who forms, who constitutes") is a politician who is appointed to lead the formation of a coalition government, after either a general election or the collapse of a previous government. The role of the formateur i ...
; Dehaene famously replied "
Sire
Sire is an archaic respectful form of address to reigning kings in Europe. In French and other languages it is less archaic and relatively more current. In Belgium, the king is addressed as "Sire..." in both Dutch and French.
The words "sire" a ...
, give me one hundred days". 106 days later a new government was formed, again led by
Wilfried Martens
Wilfried Achiel Emma Martens (; 19 April 1936 – 9 October 2013) was a Belgian politician who served as prime minister of Belgium from 1979 to 1981 and from 1981 to 1992. A member of the Flemish Christian People's Party, during his premiership ...
.
Chamber of Representatives
![Belgian Chamber 1987](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cd/Belgian_Chamber_1987.svg)
, - style="background-color:#E9E9E9"
! rowspan="2" colspan="2" style="text-align:center;" , Parties — ''Original name''
! style="text-align:center;" colspan="5" , Total seats
, - style="background-color:#E9E9E9"
! style="text-align:center;" , Votes
! style="text-align:center;" , %
! style="text-align:center;" , +/−
! style="text-align:center;" , Seats
! style="text-align:center;" , +/−
, - style="text-align:right;"
,
, style="text-align:left;" ,
Christian People's Party — ''Christelijke Volkspartij'', , 1,195,363, , 19,5%, , , , 43, , -6
, - style="text-align:right;"
,
, style="text-align:left;" ,
Socialist Party (Wallonia) — ''Parti Socialiste'', , 961,361, , 15,6%, , , , 40, , +5
, - style="text-align:right;"
,
, style="text-align:left;" ,
Socialist Party (Flanders) — ''Socialistische Partij'', , 915,432, , 14,9%, , , , 32, , 0
, - style="text-align:right;"
,
, style="text-align:left;" ,
Party for Freedom and Progress
The Party for Freedom and Progress ( nl, Partij voor Vrijheid en Vooruitgang; french: Parti de la Liberté et du Progrès; german: Partei für Freiheit und Fortschritt, PVV-PLP) was a liberal political party in Belgium which existed from 1961 unti ...
— ''Partij voor Vrijheid en Vooruitgang'', , 709,758, , 11,5%, , , , 25, , +3
, - style="text-align:right;"
,
, style="text-align:left;" ,
Liberal Reformist Party — ''Parti Réformateur Libéral'', , 577,959, , 9,4%, , , , 23, , -1
, - style="text-align:right;"
,
, style="text-align:left;" ,
People's Union — ''Volksunie'', , 495,120, , 8,1%, , , , 16, , 0
, - style="text-align:right;"
,
, style="text-align:left;" ,
Christian Social Party — ''Parti Social Chrétien'', , 491,908, , 8,0%, , , , 19, , -1
, - style="text-align:right;"
,
, style="text-align:left;" ,
Agalev
Groen (English: Green; nl, Groen, ), founded as Agalev (see Name below), is a green Flemish political party in Belgium. Its French-speaking equivalent is Ecolo; the two parties maintain close relations with each other.
Party history
Before ...
, , 275,437, , 4,5%, , , , 6, , +2
, - style="text-align:right;"
,
, style="text-align:left;" ,
Ecolo
Ecolo, officially Écologistes Confédérés pour l'organisation de luttes originales'', (English: Confederate Ecologists for the Organisation of Original Struggles)'' is a French-speaking political party in Belgium based on green politics. The ...
, , 157,988, , 2,6%, , , , 3, , -2
, - style="text-align:right;"
,
, style="text-align:left;" ,
Flemish Bloc — ''Vlaams Blok'', , 116,534, , 1,9%, , , , 2, , +2
, - style="text-align:right;"
,
, style="text-align:left;" ,
Democratic Front of the Francophones — ''Front Démocratique des Francophones'', , 71,338, , 1,2%, , *, , 3, , *
, - style="text-align:right;"
, style="background-color:darkred" , , , style="text-align:left;" ,
Communist Party of Belgium
french: Parti Communiste de Belgique
, abbreviation = KPB-PCB
, colorcode =
, leader1_title = Historical leaders
, leader1_name = Joseph JacquemotteJulien LahautLouis Van Geyt
, founder = Julien Lahaut
, founded =
, dissolved =
, merge ...
— ''Kommunistische Partij van België/Parti Communiste de Belgique'', , 51,046, , 0,8%, , , , –, , –
, -
, style="background-color:darkred" , , , style="text-align:left;" ,
Workers' Party of Belgium
The Workers' Party of Belgium (french: Parti du Travail de Belgique, PTB; nl, Partij van de Arbeid van België, PVDA; ) is a Marxism, Marxist and Socialism, socialist political parties in Belgium, political party in Belgium. It is one of the few ...
— ''Partij van de Arbeid van België/Parti du Travail de Belgique'' , , 45,218, , 0,7%, , , , –, , –
, -
, , , style="text-align:left;" ,
Socialist Workers' Party — ''Socialistische Arbeiderspartij/Parti Ouvrier Socialiste'' , , 31,446, , 0,5%, , , , –, , –
, -
, , , style="text-align:left;" ,
Walloon Rally
The Walloon Rally (french: Rassemblement wallon; RW) is a regionalist political party in Belgium, active in Wallonia since 1968. The party favoured federalism and since 1985 independence.
Founded on 7 March 1968, the party contested the Belgi ...
— ''Rassemblement Wallon'', , 12,391, , 0,2%, , *, , –, , *
, - style="text-align:right;"
,
, style="text-align:left;" ,
National Front — ''Front National'', , 7,596, , 0,1%, , , , –, , –
, -
, , , style="text-align:left;" ,
UDRT/RAD — ''Union démocratique pour le respect du travail/Respect voor Arbeid en Democratie'', , 6,452, , 0,1%, , , , –, , -1
, -
, , , style="text-align:left;" , GROEN, , 6,096, , 0,1%, , , , –, , –
, -
, , , style="text-align:left;" , PDB, , 5,683, , 0,1%, , , , –, , –
, -
, , , style="text-align:left;" , PFN/PCN, , 5,053, , 0,1%, , , , –, , –
, -
, , , style="text-align:left;" , PLC, , 4,136, , 0,1%, , , , –, , –
Senate
![Belgium Senate 1987](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/74/Belgium_Senate_1987.svg)
, +
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
, - style="text-align:center;"
! style="background-color:#E9E9E9" ,
! style="background-color:#E9E9E9" , Party
! style="background-color:#E9E9E9" , Votes
! style="background-color:#E9E9E9" , Percentage
! style="background-color:#E9E9E9" , Seats
! style="background-color:#E9E9E9" , +/-
, -
,
,
Christelijke Volkspartij
Christian Democratic and Flemish (, , CD&V) is a Flemish Christian-democratic political party in Belgium. The party has historical ties to both trade unionism ( ACV) and trade associations (UNIZO) and the Farmer's League. Until 2001, the party wa ...
(CVP), , 1,169,377, , 19.2%, , 22 , , 3
, -
,
,
Parti Socialiste (PS), , 958,686, , 15.7%, , 20 , , 2
, -
,
,
Socialistische Partij (SP), , 896,294, , 14.7%, , 17 , , 1
, -
,
,
Partij voor Vrijheid en Vooruitgang
The Party for Freedom and Progress ( nl, Partij voor Vrijheid en Vooruitgang; french: Parti de la Liberté et du Progrès; german: Partei für Freiheit und Fortschritt, PVV-PLP) was a liberal political party in Belgium which existed from 1961 unti ...
(PVV), , 686,440, , 11.3%, , 11 , , 0
, -
,
,
Parti Réformateur Libéral
The Liberal Reformist Party (french: Parti Réformateur Libéral, PRL) was a liberal political party active in Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium. The PRL grew out of the Francophone part of the unitary liberal Party for Freedom and Progress (PVV-P ...
(PRL) , , 564,367, , 9.3%, , 12 , , 1
, -
,
,
Volksunie
People's Union ( nl, Volksunie, VU) was a Flemish nationalist political party in Belgium, formed in 1954 as a successor to the Christian Flemish People's Union.
The Volksunie defined itself as a big tent and catch-all party that combined suppor ...
(VU) , , 494,410, , 8.1%, , 8 , , 0
, -
,
,
Parti social chrétien (PSC), , 474,370, , 7.8%, , 9 , , 1
, -
,
,
Agalev
Groen (English: Green; nl, Groen, ), founded as Agalev (see Name below), is a green Flemish political party in Belgium. Its French-speaking equivalent is Ecolo; the two parties maintain close relations with each other.
Party history
Before ...
, , 299,049, , 4.9%, , 3 , , 1
, -
,
,
Ecolo
Ecolo, officially Écologistes Confédérés pour l'organisation de luttes originales'', (English: Confederate Ecologists for the Organisation of Original Struggles)'' is a French-speaking political party in Belgium based on green politics. The ...
, , 168,491, , 2.8%, , 2 , , 0
, -
,
,
Vlaams Blok
''Vlaams Blok'' ( en, Flemish Block, or VB) was the name of a Belgian far-right and secessionist political party with an anti-immigration platform.Erk, 2005, pp. 493-502. Its ideologies embraced Flemish nationalism, calling for the independence ...
(VB), , 122,953, , 2.0%, , 1 , , 1
, -
,
,
Front Démocratique des Francophones (FDF), , 77,522, , 1.3%, , 1 , , 0
, -
, style="width: 10px;text-align:center;" ,
,
KPB/PCB, , 52,318, , 0.9%, ,
, -
, style="width: 10px;text-align:center;" ,
,
PVDA/PTB, , 43,386, , 0.7%, ,
, -
, style="width: 10px;text-align:center;" ,
,
SAP/POS, , 32,187, , 0.5%, ,
, -
, style="width: 10px;text-align:center;" ,
,
Rassemblement Wallon (RW), , 14,333, , 0.2%, ,
, -
, colspan="2" , Others , , 28,197 , , 0.5% , ,
, -
! colspan="4" , Total !! 106
{{Belgian elections
1987 elections in Belgium
December 1987 events in Europe