2014 Belgian regional elections
Belgian elections
Regional elections were held in Belgium on 25 May 2014 to choose representatives for the Flemish Parliament , Walloon Parliament , Brussels Parliament and the Parliament of the German-speaking Community . These elections were held on the same day as the 2014 European elections as well as the 2014 Belgian federal election .
The Parliament of the French Community is composed of all elected members of the Walloon Parliament (except German-speaking members) and 19 of the French-speaking members of the Brussels Parliament.
Flemish Parliament
2014 Flemish parliamentary election Turnout 92.67%
First party
Second party
Third party
Leader
Liesbeth Homans
Kris Peeters
Gwendolyn Rutten
Party
N-VA
CD&V
Open Vld
Leader's seat
Antwerp
did not stand
did not stand
Last election
16 seats, 13.06%
31 seats, 22.86%
21 seats, 14.99%
Seats won
43
27
19
Seat change
27
4
2
Popular vote
1,339,946
860,694
594,469
Percentage
31.88%
20.48%
14.15%
Swing
18.83
2.37
0.85
Fourth party
Fifth party
Sixth party
Leader
Bruno Tobback
Wouter Van Besien
Guy D'haeseleer
Party
sp.a
Groen
Flemish Interest
Leader's seat
Flemish Brabant
Antwerp
East Flanders
Last election
19 seats, 15.27%
7 seats, 6.77%
21 seats, 15.28%
Seats won
18
10
6
Seat change
1
3
15
Popular vote
587,903
365,781
248,840
Percentage
13.99%
8.7%
5.92%
Swing
1.28
1.94
9.36
Number of seats per constituency in Flanders
Incumbent Minister-President Kris Peeters (CD&V)
All 124 members of the Flemish Parliament were elected. The five Flemish Region provinces (West Flanders , East Flanders , Antwerp , Flemish Brabant and Limburg ) each are a constituency, plus the Brussels-Capital Region where those voting for a Dutch-language party can also vote in the Flemish election.
The incumbent Peeters II Government was made up of a coalition of CD&V, N-VA and sp.a. Minister-President Kris Peeters (CD&V) consistently polled as one of the most popular politicians in Flanders. He is a candidate to succeed himself as Minister-President. Other parties did not put forward an explicit candidate to be Minister-President.
Since the elections coincide with the federal elections, a lot of the campaigning and debates have been about federal matters. Nonetheless, the sixth state reform has transferred a lot of powers from the federal state to the regional level, such as child benefits .
Other major election topics include the reform of the secondary education , and mobility around Antwerp, in particular the Oosterweel Link .
Opinion polls
Main candidates
Results
The winner is by far the N-VA, especially compared to the 2009 regional elections but also to the 2010 federal elections. Groen also gained votes, whereas CD&V, sp.a, Open Vld and especially Vlaams Belang lost votes. LDD did not compete and is no longer in parliament.
The Union of Francophones (UF) narrowly reached the 5% election threshold in Flemish Brabant, thereby keeping their only seat.
The incumbent government parties N-VA, CD&V and sp.a would have a large majority; it was however not expected that sp.a and N-VA will be together in a coalition.
Initially, N-VA and CD&V were negotiating to form a Flemish Government. However, since Open Vld was needed for a federal coalition and they wanted to be in both or neither governments, they joined the Flemish negotiations. On 25 July 2014, the new Bourgeois Government was sworn in, led by Minister-President Geert Bourgeois (N-VA). Outgoing Minister-President Kris Peeters (CD&V) became minister in the federal Michel Government .
Party Votes % Seats Flanders Brussels Total +/- New Flemish Alliance 1,339,943 31.88 42 1 43 27Christian Democratic and Flemish 860,685 20.48 26 1 27 4Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats 594,464 14.15 17 2 19 2Socialist Party Differently 587,901 13.99 17 1 18 1Green 365,779 8.70 9 1 10 3Flemish Interest 248,840 5.92 6 0 6 15Workers' Party of Belgium+ 106,114 2.53 0 0 0 Union of Francophones 34,741 0.83 1 0 1 Pirate Party 25,986 0.62 0 0 0 Gezonde Evenwichtige Nieuwe Open Eerlijke Groepering 10,612 0.25 0 0 0 ROSSEM 9,937 0.24 0 0 0 Recht Op Een Leven 5,228 0.12 0 0 0 Vlaamse Christen Partij 5,026 0.12 0 0 0 Maakbare Maatschappij 3,227 0.08 0 0 0 Sociaal Democraten & Progressieven 2,853 0.07 0 0 0 Vrijheid, Intimiteit, Thuis, Arbeid en Liefde 617 0.01 0 0 0 Pensio(e)n Plus 482 0.01 0 0 0 Total 4,202,435 100.00 118 6 124 – Valid votes 4,202,435 95.03 Invalid/blank votes 219,601 4.97 Total votes 4,422,036 100.00 Registered voters/turnout 4,779,144 92.53 Source: Belgian Elections
In detail
The candidate receiving the most preference votes was Liesbeth Homans (N-VA) in Antwerp, with 159,965 votes, ahead of Kris Peeters (CD&V).
The highest percentage of votes in a municipality (apart from the French-speaking list in the Brussels Periphery ) was achieved by N-VA in Schilde (near Antwerp city) with 51,27% of the votes.
Party
Total
Antwerp
Brussels
East Flanders
Flemish Brabant
Limburg
West Flanders
Votes
Perc.
Seats
Votes
Perc.
Seats
Votes
Perc.
Seats
Votes
Perc.
Seats
Votes
Perc.
Seats
Votes
Perc.
Seats
Votes
Perc.
Seats
N-VA
1,339,943
31.88
43
411,001
36.46
14
9,508
18.31
1
300,638
30.65
9
204,139
29.43
7
176,512
32.15
5
238,148
29.78
7
CD&V
860,685
20.48
27
225,891
20.04
7
6,284
12.10
1
179,572
18.31
5
118,669
17.11
4
127,656
23.25
4
202,622
25.34
6
Open Vld
594,464
14.15
19
108,209
9.60
3
12,461
24.00
2
169,726
17.30
5
133,362
19.23
4
66,269
12.07
2
104,442
13.06
3
sp.a
587,901
13.99
18
128,760
11.42
4
9,558
18.41
1
139,640
14.24
4
85,105
12.27
2
94,721
17.25
3
130,119
16.27
4
Groen
365,779
8.70
10
111,234
9.87
3
10,660
20.53
1
88,977
9.07
2
64,836
9.35
2
32,713
5.96
1
57,361
7.17
1
Vlaams Belang
248,840
5.92
6
79,588
7.06
2
2,960
5.70
0
62,881
6.41
2
30,531
4.40
0
32,392
5.90
1
40,488
5.06
1
PVDA+
106,114
2.53
0
43,694
3.88
0
—
23,029
2.35
0
12,212
1.76
0
14,257
2.60
0
12,922
1.62
0
UF
34,741
0.83
1
—
—
—
34,471
5.01
1
—
—
Piratenpartij
25,986
0.62
0
7,514
0.67
0
—
7,142
0.73
0
5,572
0.80
0
—
5,758
0.72
0
GENOEG
10,612
0.25
0
3,521
0.31
0
—
2,177
0.22
0
1,398
0.20
0
1,475
0.27
0
1,449
0.18
0
R.O.S.S.E.M.
9,937
0.24
0
2,733
0.24
0
—
2,236
0.23
0
1,302
0.19
0
1,259
0.23
0
2,407
0.30
0
ROEL
5,228
0.12
0
1,306
0.12
0
—
1,017
0.10
0
674
0.10
0
872
0.16
0
1,359
0.17
0
VCP
5,026
0.12
0
682
0.06
0
—
909
0.09
0
1,007
0.15
0
979
0.18
0
1,449
0,18
0
MAMA
3,227
0.08
0
3,227
0.29
0
—
—
—
—
—
SD&P
2,853
0.07
0
—
—
2,853
0.29
0
—
—
—
V.I.T.A.L.
617
0.01
0
—
—
—
—
—
617
0.08
0
PENSIO(E)N PLUS
482
0.01
0
—
482
0.93
0
—
—
—
—
Total
4,202,435
100.00
124
1,127,360
100.00
33
51,919
100.00
6
980,797
100.00
27
693,548
100.00
20
549,105
100.00
16
799,733
100.00
22
Largest party per municipality (Brussels enlarged)
Walloon Parliament
2014 Walloon parliamentary election Turnout 87.67%
First party
Second party
Third party
Leader
Rudy Demotte
Willy Borsus
André Antoine
Party
PS
MR
cdH
Leader's seat
did not stand
did not stand
Nivelles
Last election
29 seats, 32.77%
19 seats, 23.41%
13 seats, 16.14%
Seats won
30
25
13
Seat change
1
6
Popular vote
631,216
545,112
310,012
Percentage
30.90%
26.69%
15.18%
Swing
1.87
3.28
0.96
Fourth party
Fifth party
Sixth party
Leader
Philippe Henry
Party
Ecolo
PVDA-PTB
PP
Leader's seat
Liège
Last election
14 seats, 18.54%
0 seats, 1.24%
New party
Seats won
4
2
1
Seat change
10
2
New party
Popular vote
176,026
117,500
99,237
Percentage
8.62%
5.75%
4.86%
Swing
9.92
4.51
New party
All 75 members of the Walloon Regional Parliament were elected. The elections took place in 13 electoral districts.
The incumbent Demotte II Government, led by Rudy Demotte , is a coalition of the Socialist Party (PS), the Humanist Democratic Centre (cdH) and Ecolo . The Reformist Movement (MR) was the only opposition party.
Opinion polls
Results
PS, cdH, Ecolo lost votes, whereas MR gained votes and PTB-GO! as well as Parti Populaire are new parties in parliament.
Within two weeks following the elections, the Socialist Party and the Humanist Democratic Centre started negotiations for a new government.
Party Votes % Seats +/– Socialist Party 632,653 30.90 30 1Reformist Movement 546,363 26.69 25 6Humanist Democratic Centre 310,495 15.17 13 Ecolo 176,486 8.62 4 10Workers' Party of Belgium 117,882 5.76 2 2People's Party 99,580 4.86 1 1Francophone Democratic Federalists 51,830 2.53 0 La Droite 28,438 1.39 0 Debout Les Belges! 16,618 0.81 0 Nation 10,839 0.53 0 Rassemblement Wallonie France 9,731 0.48 0 Wallonie D'Abord 9,082 0.44 0 MG 4,958 0.24 0 PP Partipensionnes 4,811 0.23 0 Pirate Party 3,612 0.18 0 VEGA 3,501 0.17 0 RassemblementWalon 3,298 0.16 0 Islam 3,169 0.15 0 NWA 2,677 0.13 0 FW 2,619 0.13 0 P+ 2,280 0.11 0 VLC 1,927 0.09 0 R 1,889 0.09 0 Rassemblement R 1,082 0.05 0 Atomique 892 0.04 0 Union des Liberaux 483 0.02 0 UdL 192 0.01 0 Total 2,047,387 100.00 75 – Valid votes 2,047,387 92.59 Invalid/blank votes 163,939 7.41 Total votes 2,211,326 100.00 Registered voters/turnout 2,516,420 87.88 Source: Belgian Elections
In detail
Party
Hainaut
Liège
Luxembourg
Namur
Walloon Brabant
Votes
Perc.
Seats
Votes
Perc.
Seats
Votes
Perc.
Seats
Votes
Perc.
Seats
Votes
Perc.
Seats
PS
279,647
38.19
15
184,469
30.11
8
38,295
23.23
1
83,082
27.87
4
45,723
19.47
2
MR
162,608
22.21
8
157,274
25.67
7
46,547
28.23
2
81,334
27.29
4
97,349
41.46
4
CDH
93,321
12.75
5
80,881
13.20
3
49,460
30.00
2
58,036
19.47
2
28,314
12.06
1
ECOLO
48,790
6.66
0
57,193
9.33
2
14,034
8.51
0
28,454
9.55
1
27,555
11.74
1
PTB/PVDA–GO!
42,629
5.82
0
50,682
8.27
2
2,848
1.73
0
14,749
4.95
0
6,592
2.81
0
PP
35,229
4.81
0
33,649
5.49
1
7,771
4.71
0
13,025
4.37
0
9,563
4.07
0
FDF
16,843
2.30
0
13,281
2.17
0
3,270
1.98
0
7,389
2.48
0
10,945
4.66
0
Total
28
23
5
11
8
Province
Constituency
PS
MR
cdH
Ecolo
PTB
PP
Total
Hainaut
Charleroi
5
3
1
0
0
0
9
Mons
3
1
1
0
0
0
5
Soignies
2
1
1
0
0
0
4
Thuin
2
1
0
0
0
0
3
Tournai-Ath-Mouscron
3
2
2
0
0
0
7
Liège
Huy-Waremme
2
2
0
0
0
0
4
Liège
5
3
2
1
1
1
13
Verviers
1
2
1
1
1
0
6
Luxembourg
Arlon-Marche-en-Famenne-Bastogne
1
1
1
0
0
0
3
Neufchâteau-Virton
0
1
1
0
–
0
2
Namur
Dinant-Philippeville
2
2
0
0
0
0
4
Namur
2
2
2
1
0
0
7
Walloon Brabant
Nivelles
2
4
1
1
0
0
8
Total
30
25
13
4
2
1
75
Brussels Parliament
2014 Brussels parliamentary election Turnout 83.62%
First party
Second party
Third party
Leader
Rudi Vervoort
Vincent De Wolf
Didier Gosuin
Party
PS
MR
FDF
Last election
21 seats, 23.3%
24 seats, 26.5%
New party
Seats won
21
18
12
Seat change
6
New party
Popular vote
108,763
94,243
60,611
Percentage
23.5%
20.3%
13.1%
Swing
0.2%
6.2%
13.1%
Fourth party
Fifth party
Sixth party
Leader
Joëlle Milquet
Christos Doulkeridis
Guy Vanhengel
Party
cdH
Ecolo
Open Vld
Last election
11 seats, 13.1%
16 seats, 17.9%
4 seats, 2.6%
Seats won
9
8
5
Seat change
2
8
1
Popular vote
48,021
41,368
14,296
Percentage
10.3%
8.9%
3.1%
Swing
2.8%
9.0%
0.5%
All 89 members of the Parliament of the Brussels-Capital Region were elected. There are separate Dutch-language party lists and French-language party lists. Those voting for a Dutch-language party can also cast a vote for the Flemish Parliament election.
Opinion polls
Date
Polling Firm
MR
PS
Ecolo
cdH
VLD
sp.a
VB
CD&V
Groen
PTB/PVDA
N-VA
FDF
PP
Others
Lead
15 May
La Libre Belgique
21.0
19.2
8.5
10.9
3.5
2.5
-
-
-
7.5
2.0
11.5
3.8
9.6
1.8
23 Apr
Le Soir
20.3
22.5
9.6
9.8
4.4
0.8
-
1.4
-
6.0
-
9.3
3.9
12.0
2.2
15 Apr
La Libre Belgique
20.2
17.6
8.0
11.6
3.8
1.1
3.0
2.1
1.9
7.2
2.1
8.3
4.1
9.0
2.6
21 Feb
La Libre Belgique
21.8
18.1
10.1
12.5
3.6
1.0
1.0
1.6
2.9
6.5
2.7
10.4
3.0
4.8
3.7
13 Feb
Le Soir
20.0
21.2
9.6
10.4
4.3
2.9
0.7
0.8
2.5
6.8
2.6
9.6
2.3
6.3
1.2
2014
22 Nov
La Libre Belgique
22.6
20.8
10.6
12.2
2.4
2.3
2.0
1.6
2.1
2.3
1.7
11.8
2.2
5.4
1.8
21 Nov
Le Soir
18.7
24.1
11.3
9.7
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
36.2
5.4
6 Sep
La Libre Belgique
22.6
21.1
11.7
10.5
1.8
1.6
2.0
1.7
1.8
3.2
2.9
11.2
2.4
5.5
1.5
1 Sep
Le Soir
22.6
23.8
10.3
9.8
2.3
1.3
1.5
1.5
2.0
-
2.8
-
-
22.1
1.2
16 Jun
Le Soir
20.9
24.5
10.5
10.2
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
33.9
3.6
25 May
La Libre Belgique
21.9
19.9
12.4
9.8
2.1
2.4
3.0
1.7
1.4
2.4
3.2
11.4
1.8
6.6
2.0
22 Feb
La Libre Belgique
22.8
21.3
10.6
11.4
2.5
1.2
1.4
2.5
1.6
3.8
2.9
11.0
1.9
5.1
1.5
2013
2012
2011
10 Jun 2010
Federal Elections
27.1
26.6
12.0
12.2
2.3
2.0
1.7
1.6
1.6
1.6
1.8
-
3.5
6.1
0.5
2010
7 Jun 2009
Brussels Elections
26.5
23.3
17.9
13.1
2.6
2.2
2.0
1.7
1.3
0.9
0.6
-
-
8.0
3.2
Results
The French candidates receiving the most preference votes were Didier Gosuin (FDF, 22,906), Vincent De Wolf (MR, 19,919), Joëlle Milquet (cdH, 19,416), Charles Picqué (PS, 16,859) and Rudi Vervoort (PS, 16,742).
The Dutch candidate receiving the most preference votes was Guy Vanhengel (Open Vld, 7,375), significantly above the second one, Els Ampe (Open Vld, 2,883).
Party Votes % Seats +/– French language group Socialist Party 108,755 26.59 21 – Reformist Movement 94,227 23.04 18 -6 Francophone Democratic Federalists 60,547 14.80 12 +12 Humanist Democratic Centre 48,012 11.74 9 -2 Ecolo 41,360 10.11 8 -8 PTB*PVDA-GO! 15,777 3.86 4 +4 Debout Les Belges! 9,424 2.30 – – People's Party 7,942 1.94 – – Islam 6,945 1.70 – – Pirate Party 3,026 0.74 – – La Droite 2,973 0.73 – – Pro Bruxsel 2,962 0.72 – – Vega 2,070 0.51 – – Nation 1,360 0.33 – – Gauches Communes 839 0.21 – – R 755 0.18 – – Égalitaires! 749 0.18 – – Belgische Unie – Union Belge 543 0.13 – – Libertarian Party 464 0.11 – – Rassemblement Wallonie France 175 0.04 – – FE-MDCEJ 143 0.03 – – Total 409,048 100.00 72 – Dutch language group Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats 14,250 26.70 5 +1 Socialist Party Differently 10,446 19.57 3 -1 Green 9,551 17.89 3 +1 New Flemish Alliance 9,075 17.00 3 +2 Christian Democratic and Flemish 6,102 11.43 2 -1 Flemish Interest 2,987 5.60 1 -2 Pro Bruxsel 662 1.24 – – Pensio(e)n Plus 306 0.57 – – Total 53,379 100.00 17 – Valid votes 462,427 94.65 Invalid/blank votes 26,156 5.35 Total votes 488,583 100.00 Registered voters/turnout 584,310 83.62 Source: Belgian Elections
2014 German-speaking parliamentary election
All 25 members of the Parliament of the German-speaking Community were elected.
The incumbent government , led by Karl-Heinz Lambertz (SP), is a coalition of the Socialist Party (SP), the liberal Party for Freedom and Progress (PFF) and the regionalist ProDG . Only a few days after the elections, these parties agreed to continue their coalition government, but with Oliver Paasch (ProDG) as Minister-President since his party became bigger than SP.
Party Votes % Seats +/– Christian Social Party 9,351 24.86 7 – ProDG 8,352 22.21 6 +2 Socialist Party 6,047 16.08 4 -1 Party for Freedom and Progress 5,847 15.55 4 – Vivant 3,994 10.62 2 – Ecolo 3,590 9.54 2 -1 Libertarian Party 432 1.15 – – Total 37,613 100.00 25 – Valid votes 37,613 88.87 Invalid/blank votes 4,711 11.13 Total votes 42,324 100.00 Registered voters/turnout 49,000 86.38 Source: Belgian Elections
References
External links