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 Belgium portal |
Elections in Belgium are organised for legislative bodies only, and not for executive functions. Direct elections take place for the European Parliament, the Chamber of Representatives, the Parliaments of the Regions, the Parliaments of the Communities, the provincial councils, the municipal councils and the councils of Districts of Antwerp. Voting is mandatory in federal elections, and all elections use proportional representation which in general requires coalition governments.
The method of election, the elected bodies, and the political party system have changed drastically since the founding of Belgium in 1830. At first, there were only municipal, provincial and national elections with only few people being able to vote on the national level. Over time, voting rights were extended and eventually made compulsory. In the second half the 20th century, political parties split along linguistic lines and the number of parties increased. In 1979, the European Parliament became a directly elected supranational body and as a result of the federalisation of the country, the Communities and Regions of Belgium also got their own legislatures which have been directly elected since 1993.