1971 Belgian general election

General elections were held in Belgium on 7 November 1971.[1] The result was a victory for the Christian People's Party, which won 40 of the 212 seats in the Chamber of Representatives and 34 of the 106 seats in the Senate. Voter turnout was 91.5%.[2] Elections to the nine provincial councils were also held.

1971 Belgian general election

7 November 1971
212 seats in the Chamber of Representatives
First party Second party Third party   Leader Gaston Eyskens Jos Van Eynde Edmond Leburton Party CVP Socialist Socialist Leader since Candidate for PM 1971 1971 Last election New 59 seats, 27.10%[a] 59 seats, 27.10%[a] Seats won 40 25 25 Seat change New 34 34 Popular vote 967,701 623,395 549,483 Percentage 18.32% 11.80% 10.40% Swing New 15.30% 16.70%   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Frans Van der Elst Pierre Descamps Robert J. Houben Party VU PVV PSC Leader since 1955 1969 1966 Last election 20 seats, 9.79% 47 seats, 20.87% New Seats won 21 16 15 Seat change 1 31 New Popular vote 586,917 392,130 327,393 Percentage 11.11% 7.42% 6.20% Swing 1.32% 13.45% New
Colours denote the winning party in each electoral district (for the Chamber of Deputies). a Beginning in 1971, the Belgian Socialist Party ran as separate lists for Flanders and Wallonia, however they still existed as a single party, hence why both show their previous united results.
Government before election G. Eyskens V CVP-PSC-BSP/PSB Elected Government G. Eyskens V CVP-PSC-BSP/PSB

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The linguistic issues led to the splitting of the major parties into separate Flemish and Francophone parties. Consequently the election returned a very fragmented parliament.

The election followed the first state reform, with the creation of three cultural communities. The newly elected members of parliament would thus also serve in the newly established cultural councils.