The Federal Parliament of Belgium is composed of two chambers: the Chamber of Representatives and the Senate.
The Chamber of Representatives
The 150 Members of the Chamber of Representatives are directly elected via universal suffrage. From a linguistic point of view, the Chamber is composed of 62 French-speaking members and 88 Dutch-speaking members. 41% of representatives are women.
The parliamentary information sheets on the Chamber’s website provide information on the elections, composition, bodies, functions, competences and political oversight of the Chamber.
Composition of the Chamber of Representatives
Follow the Chamber’s sessions live
Visit the Chamber
The Senate
On 25 May 2014, the Senate was fundamentally reformed, following the sixteenth reform of the State, becoming a non-permanent assembly. It is also called the Assembly of Regions. Senators are not elected directly, and the system of ex officio senators was abolished.
The Senate has 60 members. 50 Senators are appointed by the Parliaments of the Communities and the Regions from among their members. The group consists of 10 members from the Parliament of the French Community, 8 members from the Parliament of the Walloon Region, 29 members from the Flemish Parliament, 2 members of the French-speaking Group of the Parliament of the Brussels-Capital Region and 1 member of the Parliament of the German-speaking Community. The 10 remaining Senators are co-opted based on the electoral results.
Composition of the Senate
Follow the Senate’s sessions online
Visit the Senate