Politics of Belgium  

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-'''Elections in Belgium''' gives information on [[election]] and election results in [[politics of Belgium|Belgium]].  
-Belgium elects on federal level a [[legislature]]. The '''[[Belgian Federal Parliament|Federal Parliament]]''' (''Federale Parlement/Parlement Fédérale/Föderales Parlament'') has two [[bicameralism|chambers]]. The '''[[Belgian Federal Parliament|Chamber of People's Representatives]]''' (''Kamer van Volksvertegenwoordigers/Chambre des Représentants/Abgeordnetenkammer'') has 150 members, elected for a four year term by [[proportional representation]]. The '''[[Belgian Senate|Senate]]''' (''Senaat/Sénat/Senat'') has 71 members, 40 members directly-elected for a four year term by [[proportional representation]], 21 members appointed by the [[Communities and regions of Belgium|Community Parliaments]] and 10 coopted members appointed by the other Senators. In addition, the children of the [[Monarchy of Belgium|King]] are Senators by right.+'''Politics of Belgium''' takes place in a framework of a [[federation|federal]] [[parliamentary system|parliamentary]] [[representative democracy|representative democratic]] [[constitutional monarchy]], whereby the [[Belgian monarchy|King of the Belgians]] is the Head of State and the [[Prime Minister of Belgium]] is the [[head of government]] in a [[multi-party system]]. [[Executive power]] is exercised by the government. Federal [[legislative power]] is vested in both the [[government]] and the two chambers of parliament, the [[Belgian Senate|Senate]] and the [[Belgian Chamber of Representatives|Chamber of Representatives]]. The [[federation]] is made up of [[Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium|(cultural/political) communities and (territorial) regions]].
- +
-Belgium has a [[multi-party]] system, with numerous [[political parties|parties]] in which no one party often has a chance of gaining power alone, and [[political parties|parties]] must work with each other to form [[coalition government]]s.+
-Several months before an election, each party forms a list of candidates for each district. Parties are allowed to place as many candidates on their "ticket" as there are seats available. The formation of the list is an internal process that varies with each party. The place on the list influences the election of a candidate, but its influence has diminished since the last electoral reform.+Belgium's political institutions are complex; most political power is organised around the need to represent the main cultural (and political) communities. Since around 1970, the significant national Belgian [[political party|political parties]] have split into distinct representations for each communities' interests besides defenders of their ideologies. These parties belong to three main political families, though close to the [[centrism|centre]]: the [[right-wing politics|right-wing]] [[Liberals]], the [[Social conservatism|social conservative]] [[Christian democracy|Christian Democrats]], and [[Social democracy|Socialists]] forming the [[left-wing politics|left-wing]]. Other important newer parties are the [[worldwide green parties|Green parties]] and, nowadays mainly in Flanders, the [[nationalism|nationalist]] and [[far-right]] parties. Politics is influenced by lobby groups, such as [[trade union]]s and [[employers' organization]]s such as the [[Federation of Belgian Enterprises]].
- +Majority rule is often superseded by a de facto confederal decision making process where the minority (the French-speakers) enjoy important protections through specialty majorities (2/3 overall and majority in each of the 2 main communities).
-Political campaigns in Belgium are relatively short, lasting only about one month, and there are restrictions on the use of [[billboard (advertising)|billboard]]s. For all of their activities, campaigns included, the political parties have to rely on government subsidies and dues paid by their members. An electoral expenditures law restricts expenditures of political parties during an electoral campaign. Because of the huge public bureaucracy, the high politisation of nominations, and the widely accepted practice that political nominees spend many man-months paid for by all tax-payers for partisan electioneering, this arrangement massively favors the ruling political parties.+====Main political parties====
- +:''See also [[List of political parties in Belgium]]''
-Since no single party holds an absolute majority, after the election the strongest party or party family will usually create a coalition with some of the other parties to form the government.+*[[Belgian Union|BUB]]
- +*[[Committee for Another Policy|CAP]]
-Voting is compulsory in Belgium; more than 90% of the population participates. Belgian voters are given five options when voting. They may:+*[[Centre Démocrate Humaniste|CDH]]
- +*[[Christen-Democratisch en Vlaams|CD&V]]
-* Vote for a list as a whole, thereby showing approval of the order established by the party they vote for;+*[[Christian Social Party (Belgium)|CSP]]
-* Vote for one or more individual candidates belonging to one party, regardless of his/her ranking on the list. This is a "preference vote;"+*[[Ecolo]]
-* Vote for one or more of the "alternates (substitutes);" +*[[Front Démocratique des Francophones|FDF]]
-* Vote for one or more candidates, and one or more alternates, all of the same party; or+*[[National Front (Belgium)|Front National]]
-* Vote invalid or blank so no one receives the vote+*[[Groen!]]
- +*[[Citizens' Movement for Change|MCC]]
-Elections for the Federal Parliament are normally held every four years although early elections are possible. The regional parliaments are elected every five years, and their elections coincide with those for the [[European Parliament]], no early elections are possible. Elections for the members of Belgium's municipal and provincial councils are held every six years, no early elections are possible.+*[[Reformist Movement|MR]]
- +*[[New-Flemish Alliance|N-VA]]
-Voting in Belgium is done almost entirely by [[electronic voting]] on a computer. A few weeks before the actual election, every Belgian older then 18 receives a voting card with the details of the voting bureau where he/she has to cast his/her vote. Voting bureau's are usually in schools. Several voting bureau's can be spread out in the school using the school's facility to accommodate all the people. +*[[Party for Freedom and Progress|PFF]]
-A bureau is lead by a chairmen and a few volunteers, these are ordinary people that are randomly picked and assigned a job. Computers are installed in private cubical's. When someone arrives in a bureau, the following procedure is followed:+*[[PJUPDB]]
-* The voter gives his/hers [[eID]] card and his voting card to a volunteer of the bureau+*[[Workers Party of Belgium|PVDA-PTB]]
-* The volunteer checks if the voter is in the correct bureau and checks if his/her name is on the list of voters for this bureau+*[[Socialist Party (francophone Belgium)|PS]]
-* The voter receives a magnetic card and is directed to a private cubical+*[[Socialist Party (German-speaking party in Belgium)|SP]]
-* The voter inserts the magnetic card and casts his/her vote by tapping the choices on the screen with a computer pen; each choice has to be confirmed once; after the vote, the magnetic card is ejected from the system.+*[[Socialist Party - Different|SP. a]]
-* The voter returns to the volunteer and inserts his/her magnetic card in a receiver machine; this machine only shows whether the vote is valid or not.+*[[Spirit (Belgium)|SPIRIT]]
-* If the vote is valid, the voter receives his/hers eID back and the original voting card that has a stamp with an identification code of the bureau; this is the proof for the voter that he/she actually did cast a vote in the election.+*[[Vlaams Belang]]
- +*[[Vlaamse Liberalen en Democraten|VLD]]
-The most recent general election was held on [[10 June]] [[2007]]. The next regional elections are expected in June 2009 and the next communal and provincial elections in October 2012.+==See also==
 +*[[Wissel van de macht]]
{{GFDL}} {{GFDL}}

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Politics of Belgium takes place in a framework of a federal parliamentary representative democratic constitutional monarchy, whereby the King of the Belgians is the Head of State and the Prime Minister of Belgium is the head of government in a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Federal legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of parliament, the Senate and the Chamber of Representatives. The federation is made up of (cultural/political) communities and (territorial) regions.

Belgium's political institutions are complex; most political power is organised around the need to represent the main cultural (and political) communities. Since around 1970, the significant national Belgian political parties have split into distinct representations for each communities' interests besides defenders of their ideologies. These parties belong to three main political families, though close to the centre: the right-wing Liberals, the social conservative Christian Democrats, and Socialists forming the left-wing. Other important newer parties are the Green parties and, nowadays mainly in Flanders, the nationalist and far-right parties. Politics is influenced by lobby groups, such as trade unions and employers' organizations such as the Federation of Belgian Enterprises. Majority rule is often superseded by a de facto confederal decision making process where the minority (the French-speakers) enjoy important protections through specialty majorities (2/3 overall and majority in each of the 2 main communities).

Main political parties

See also List of political parties in Belgium

See also




Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Politics of Belgium" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.

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