| Parliament name (generic / translated) |
Chambre des Députés / Chamber of Deputies |
| Structure of parliament |
Unicameral |
| BACKGROUND |
| Dates of election / renewal (from/to) |
7 June 2009 |
| Purpose of elections |
Elections were held for all the seats in the Chamber of Deputies on the normal expiry of the members' term of office. |
The June 2009 parliamentary elections were held in parallel with those to the European Parliament (EP).
In the previous elections held in June 2004
the Christian Social Party (PCS/CSV) of Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker took 24 of the 60 seats at stake. Following the elections
the PCS/CSV formed a coalition government with the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party (POSL/LSAP)
which took 14 seats. Other parties which won parliamentary representation were the Democratic Party (PD/DP
ten seats)
the Greens (DEI GRÉNG
seven seats) and the Action Committee for Democracy and Justice (five seats).
The 2009 elections were the first to be held following a constitutional amendment curtailing the powers of the country's monarch
the Grand Duke
in favour of parliament. In February 2008
the Chamber of Deputies
in its first reading
approved a bill legalizing euthanasia. In April 2008
Grand Duke Henri announced that he would not sign it into law for "reasons of conscience". Prime Minister Juncker
who himself opposed the bill
proposed a constitutional amendment whereby bills would no longer require the Grand Duke's approval before passing into law. He argued that the Grand Duke should not overrule decisions made by the parliament. In December
the Chamber of Deputies approved the amendment and passed the bill on euthanasia
which was promulgated in March 2009.
In all
452 candidates
including 154 women
from eight parties
contested the 2009 elections. Prime Minister Juncker
in power since 1995
was vying for a fourth term under the PCS/CSV. The POSL/LSAP was led by Deputy Prime Minister Jean Asselborn. Other major parties in the race included the PD/DP
led by Mr. Claude Meisch and the Greens (DEI GRÉNG)
co-led by Ms. Tilly Metz and Mr. Carlo de Toffoli. The Action Committee for Democracy and Justice
which renamed itself the Alternative Democratic Reform Party (ADR) in April 2006
was running under the leadership of Mr. Roby Mehlen.
Since 2005
Mr. Juncker - the longest serving head of government in the European Union (EU) - has also been head of Eurogroup
an informal discussion body of economy and finance ministers of the euro zone and the European Central Bank. He announced that he would resign as Finance Minister of Luxembourg after the 2009 elections
although he would remain the head of Eurogroup until his current term ends in December 2010.
The elections were held against the backdrop of the recent global financial crisis
which renewed criticism over Luxembourg's banking secrecy. Prime Minister Juncker refrained from debating the issue publicly during the election campaign. Instead
he ran on his government's record
including a sevenfold increase in the research budget since 2000. He argued that the country should not focus only on the financial sector to recover from the crisis. He underscored the need to diversify economic activities for future generations.
The POSL/LSAP's campaign focused on employment
the economy and the environment. Deputy Prime Minister Asselborn insisted that the role of the State should be reinforced amid the economic crisis. He pledged to reform the education system and introduce new technology to modernize the economy so that Luxembourgers would be "winners" after the economic crisis. He added that his party would work to continue to reduce CO2 emissions and develop renewable energy technologies.
The PD/DP pledged to bring about new solutions to the economic crisis in cooperation with the EU. It argued that the international financial system no longer corresponded to the needs of the globalized economy.
The ADR considers itself as the voice of citizens and therefore pledged to fight social injustice and dysfunctional State institutions. It has been calling for all public decisions to be put to a referendum
an idea which Prime Minister Juncker vehemently rejected.
On 7 June
90.93 per cent of 223
000 eligible voters turned out at the polls.
The PCS/CSV won 26 seats
two more than in the 2004 elections
while the POSL/LSAP took 13
losing one. The PD/DP took nine
followed by the Greens and the ADR
which took seven and four seats respectively. Fifteen women were elected.
On 8 July
the newly elected Chamber of Deputies held its first session. On 28 July
it elected Mr. Laurent Mosar (PCS/CSV) as its new Speaker.
In the meantime
on 20 July
the PCS/CSV and the POSL/LSAP agreed to form a new coalition government under the leadership of Mr. Juncker. The members of the new Government were sworn in on 23 July. |
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Round no 1 | 7 June 2009 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
223'842
203'535 (90.93%)
13'322
190'213 |
|
Notes
|
|
| Distribution of votes |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Candidates |
Votes |
|
|
% |
|
|
| Christian Social Party (PCS/CSV) |
|
532'666 |
|
|
38.04 |
|
|
| Socialist Workers' Party (POSL/LSAP) |
|
695'830 |
|
|
21.56 |
|
|
| Democrat Party (PD/DP) |
|
432'820 |
|
|
14.98 |
|
|
| Greens (DEI GRÉNG) |
|
347'388 |
|
|
11.71 |
|
|
| Alternative Democratic Reform Party (ADR) |
|
232'744 |
|
|
8.13 |
|
|
| The Left (DÉI LÉNK) |
|
109'184 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Total
|
Number of women |
|
|
|
| Christian Social Party (PCS/CSV) |
26
|
7 |
|
|
|
| Socialist Workers' Party (POSL/LSAP) |
13
|
4 |
|
|
|
| Democrat Party (PD/DP) |
9
|
2 |
|
|
|
| Greens (DEI GRÉNG) |
7
|
1 |
|
|
|
| Alternative Democratic Reform Party (ADR) |
4
|
1 |
|
|
|
| The Left (DÉI LÉNK) |
1
|
0 |
|
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
45
15
25.00%
|
| Distribution of seats according to age |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to profession |
|
|
| Comments |
Note:
Each voter may cast as many votes as the number of deputies elected from each constituency. Thus the total number of votes (and consequently
that won by each party) exceeds the number of registered voters.
Note on the number of women:
Fifteen women were elected in the June 2009 elections. Some members resigned to take up their ministerial post in the new government formed in July 2009
reducing the number of women to 12.
Distribution of seats according to profession (in 2011)
- Self-employed: 20
- Private-sector employees:9
- Public-sector employees: 31
Sources:
- Chamber of Deputies (16.06.2009
29.07.2009
22.12.2011
02.12.2012)
- Elections.public.lu (15.07.2009)
- http://www.elections.public.lu/fr/index.html |
Compare data for parliamentary chambers in the Last elections module
