1987 Belgian general election

General elections were held in Belgium on 13 December 1987 to elect members of the Chamber of Representatives and Senate. Elections to the nine provincial councils were also held.

1987 Belgian general election

13 December 1987
212 seats in the Chamber of Representatives
First party Second party Third party   PS Leader Wilfried Martens Guy Spitaels Karel Van Miert Party CVP PS sp.a Leader since Candidate for PM 1981 1978 Last election 49 seats, 21.29% 35 seats, 13.76% 32 seats, 14.55% Seats won 43 40 32 Seat change 6 5 Popular vote 1,195,363 961,361 915,432 Percentage 19.5% 15.6% 14.9% Swing 1.79% 1.84% 0.35%   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Annemie Neyts-Uyttebroeck Louis Michel Gérard Deprez Party Open Vld PRL cdH Leader since 1985 1982 1981 Last election 22 seats, 10.75% 24 seats, 10.21% 20 seats, 7.95% Seats won 25 23 19 Seat change 3 1 1 Popular vote 709,758 577,959 491,908 Percentage 11.5% 9.4% 8.0% Swing 0.75% 0.81% 0.05%
Government before election Martens VII CVP-PSC-PVV-PRL Government after election Martens VII CVP-PSC-PVV-PRL

The snap elections were called after the government led by Wilfried Martens (CVP) fell due to the Voeren issue.

Following the election, the King appointed Jean-Luc Dehaene (CVP) as informateur; Dehaene famously replied "Sire, give me one hundred days." 106 days later a new government was formed, again led by CVP leader Wilfried Martens.

Results

Chamber of Representatives

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Christian People's Party	1,195,363	19.45	43	–6
	Parti Socialiste	961,361	15.64	40	+5
	Socialistische Partij	915,432	14.90	32	0
	Party for Freedom and Progress	709,758	11.55	25	+3
	Liberal Reformist Party	577,959	9.41	23	–1
	People's Union	495,120	8.06	16	0
	Christian Social Party	491,908	8.00	19	–1
	Agalev	275,437	4.48	6	+2
	Ecolo	157,988	2.57	3	–2
	Vlaams Blok	116,534	1.90	2	+2
	Democratic Front of the Francophones	71,338	1.16	3	0
	Communist Party of Belgium	51,046	0.83	0	0
	Workers' Party of Belgium	45,218	0.74	0	0
	Socialist Workers' Party	31,446	0.51	0	0
	Walloon Rally	12,391	0.20	0	New
	National Front	7,596	0.12	0	0
	Democratic Union for the Respect of Labour	6,452	0.10	0	–1
	Green	6,096	0.10	0	0
	Party of German-speaking Belgians	5,683	0.09	0	0
	Party of New Forces–PCN	5,053	0.08	0	0
	Christian Liberal Party	4,136	0.07	0	0
	United Feminist Party	959	0.02	0	0
	Appeal to All European Social Libertarians	593	0.01	0	0
	Green Party Radical	340	0.01	0	New
Total		6,145,207	100.00	212	0
Valid votes		6,145,207	93.43
Invalid/blank votes		431,840	6.57
Total votes		6,577,047	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		7,044,211	93.37
Source: Belgian Elections

Senate

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Christian People's Party	1,169,377	19.19	22	–3
	Parti Socialiste	958,686	15.74	20	+2
	Socialistische Partij	896,294	14.71	17	+1
	Party for Freedom and Progress	686,440	11.27	11	0
	Liberal Reformist Party	564,367	9.26	12	–1
	People's Union	494,410	8.12	8	0
	Christian Social Party	474,370	7.79	9	–1
	Agalev	299,049	4.91	3	+1
	Ecolo	168,491	2.77	2	0
	Vlaams Blok	122,953	2.02	1	+1
	Democratic Front of the Francophones	77,522	1.27	1	0
	Communist Party of Belgium	52,318	0.86	0	0
	Workers' Party of Belgium	43,386	0.71	0	0
	Socialist Workers' Party	32,187	0.53	0	0
	Walloon Rally	14,333	0.24	0	New
	Green	7,648	0.13	0	0
	Democratic Union for the Respect of Labour	6,203	0.10	0	0
	Parti Communautaire National-Européen	5,614	0.09	0	0
	Party of German-speaking Belgians	5,588	0.09	0	0
	Christian Liberal Party	3,144	0.05	0	0
	United Feminist Party	1,127	0.02	0	0
	Union of Progressive Walloons–Christian Liberal Party	475	0.01	0	New
	Other parties	8,186	0.13	0	–
Total		6,092,168	100.00	106	0
Valid votes		6,092,168	92.61
Invalid/blank votes		486,076	7.39
Total votes		6,578,244	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		7,044,211	93.39
Source: Belgian Elections