1965 Belgian general election

General elections were held in Belgium on 23 May 1965. The result was a victory for the Christian Social Party, which won 77 of the 212 seats in the Chamber of Representatives and 44 of the 106 seats in the Senate. Voter turnout was 91.6%. Elections for the nine provincial councils were also held.

1965 Belgian general election

23 May 1965
212 seats in the Chamber of Representatives
First party Second party Third party   Leader Pierre Harmel Léo Collard Omer Vanaudenhove Party Christian Social Socialist Freedom and Progress Leader since Candidate for PM 1959 1961 Last election 96 seats, 41.46% 84 seats, 36.72% New Seats won 77 64 48 Seat change 19 20 New Popular vote 1,785,211 1,403,107 1,119,991 Percentage 34.45% 28.28% 21.61% Swing 7.01% 8.44% New   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Frans Van der Elst Ernest Burnelle Paul Brien Party VU Communist DéFI Leader since 1955 1954 1964 Last election 5 seats, 3.46% 5 seats, 3.08% New Seats won 12 6 3 Seat change 7 1 New Popular vote 346,860 247,311 68,966 Percentage 6.69% 4.77% 1.33% Swing 3.23% 1.69% New
Chamber seat distribution by constituency
Government before election Lefèvre CVP/PSC-BSP/PSB Government after election Harmel CVP/PSC-BSP/PSB

The elections followed the implementation of the 1962 language laws. As a result, the Flemish nationalist People's Union made big gains, as well as the new Democratic Front of the Francophones which was founded as a response to the language laws.

The election also followed the founding of the Party for Freedom and Progress, succeeding the Liberal Party. The new party aimed to reach a broader voter base, in which it succeeded by more than doubling its number of seats.

Despite both government parties losing seats, they retained their sizeable majority and continued governing.

Results

Chamber of Representatives

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Christian Social Party	1,785,211	34.43	77	–19
	Belgian Socialist Party	1,465,503	28.27	64	–20
	Party for Freedom and Progress	1,119,991	21.60	48	+28
	People's Union	346,860	6.69	12	+7
	Communist Party of Belgium	236,721	4.57	6	+1
	Democratic Front of the Francophones	68,966	1.33	3	New
	Walloon Front	24,245	0.47	1	New
	Walloon Workers' Party	23,582	0.45	1	New
	de Socialist	14,937	0.29	0	New
	Catholic Party	14,007	0.27	0	New
	Flemish People's Party	13,451	0.26	0	New
	Walloon Communist Party	13,321	0.26	0	New
	Independent Social Party	9,493	0.18	0	New
	Independent Workers Union	8,680	0.17	0	New
	Flemish Democrats	7,983	0.15	0	New
	Walloon Democratic Front	5,709	0.11	0	New
	Afzonderlijk	4,762	0.09	0	New
	Francophone Union	3,776	0.07	0	New
	Independent National Party	3,089	0.06	0	New
	Animal Protection	2,543	0.05	0	New
	Belgian Workers' Party	2,237	0.04	0	New
	Independent Rally	2,213	0.04	0	New
	National Party	1,889	0.04	0	0
	Return to Liège	1,552	0.03	0	New
	Union of Independents	1,014	0.02	0	New
	Independent Middle Class	958	0.02	0	New
	Kaganovemus	890	0.02	0	New
	Trotsky Communists	385	0.01	0	New
	New Resistance Movement	309	0.01	0	New
	Independents	493	0.01	0	–1
Total		5,184,770	100.00	212	0
Valid votes		5,184,770	92.89
Invalid/blank votes		396,941	7.11
Total votes		5,581,711	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		6,091,534	91.63
Source: Belgian Elections

Senate

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Christian Social Party	1,785,191	34.89	44	–3
	Belgian Socialist Party	1,449,482	28.33	31	–14
	Party for Freedom and Progress	1,111,894	21.73	23	+12
	People's Union	338,770	6.62	4	+2
	Communist Party of Belgium	249,796	4.88	3	+2
	Democratic Front of the Francophones	68,397	1.34	1	New
	Walloon Democratic Front	27,215	0.53	0	New
	Walloon Workers' Party	21,511	0.42	0	New
	Independent Social Party	12,180	0.24	0	New
	Walloon Communist Party	11,600	0.23	0	New
	Francophone Union	7,656	0.15	0	New
	Independent Rally	7,456	0.15	0	New
	Independent Workers Union	6,448	0.13	0	New
	Catholic Party	5,226	0.10	0	New
	Belgian Workers' Party	4,207	0.08	0	New
	Independent National Party	4,066	0.08	0	New
	National Party	2,885	0.06	0	0
	Kaganovemus	1,739	0.03	0	New
	Independent Middle Class	831	0.02	0	New
	Flemish Democrats	475	0.01	0	New
Total		5,117,025	100.00	106	0
Valid votes		5,117,025	91.73
Invalid/blank votes		461,584	8.27
Total votes		5,578,609	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		6,091,534	91.58
Source: Belgian Elections

Constituencies

The distribution of seats among the electoral districts was as follows for the Chamber of Representatives. Seats were reapportioned among the districts due to population growth, which was stronger in Flanders than in Wallonia, and due to several municipalities having been changed to another province following the 1962 language laws. For example, the Comines-Warneton municipalities were transferred from Ypres (West Flanders) to the newly created arrondissement of Mouscron (Hainaut), causing Ypres to lose one seat and Tournai-Ath-Mouscron to gain one seat.

Province	Arrondissement(s)	Chamber	Change
Antwerp	Antwerp	20	–
	Mechelen	6	–
	Turnhout	7	+1
Limburg	Hasselt	6	+1
	Tongeren-Maaseik	7	+1
East Flanders	Aalst	6	–
	Oudenaarde	3	–
	Gent-Eeklo	13	–
	Dendermonde	4	–
	Sint-Niklaas	4	–
West Flanders	Bruges	5	–
	Roeselare-Tielt	5	–
	Kortrijk	6	–
	Ypres	2	–1
	Veurne-Diksmuide-Ostend	5	–
Brabant	Leuven	8	+1
	Brussels	33	+1
	Nivelles	5	–
Hainaut	Tournai-Ath-Mouscron	7	+1
	Charleroi	11	–
	Thuin	3	–1
	Mons	6	–1
	Soignies	4	–
Liège	Huy-Waremme	4	–
	Liège	14	–
	Verviers	5	–1
Luxembourg	Arlon-Marche-Bastogne	3	–
	Neufchâteau-Virton	2	–1
Namur	Namur	5	–
	Dinant-Philippeville	3	–1
Total		212	–