| Election Name: | 1946 Belgian general election |
| Country: | Belgium |
| Type: | parliamentary |
| Previous Election: | 1939 Belgian general election |
| Previous Year: | 1939 |
| Next Election: | 1949 Belgian general election |
| Next Year: | 1949 |
| Seats For Election: | All 202 seats in the Chamber of Representatives |
| Majority Seats: | 102 |
| Leader1: | Hubert Pierlot |
| Leader Since1: | Candidate for PM? |
| Party1: | Christian Social Party (Belgium, defunct) |
| Last Election1: | 73 seats, 33.58% |
| Seats1: | 92 |
| Seat Change1: | 19 |
| Popular Vote1: | 1,006,293 |
| Percentage1: | 42.54% |
| Swing1: | 8.96% |
| Leader2: | Paul-Henri Spaak |
| Leader Since2: | Candidate for PM |
| Party2: | Belgian Socialist Party |
| Last Election2: | 64 seats, 29.44% |
| Seats2: | 69 |
| Seat Change2: | 5 |
| Popular Vote2: | 746,738 |
| Percentage2: | 31.57% |
| Swing2: | 2.13% |
| Leader3: | Julien Lahaut |
| Leader Since3: | 1945 |
| Party3: | Communist |
| Last Election3: | 9 seats, 4.65% |
| Seats3: | 23 |
| Seat Change3: | 14 |
| Popular Vote3: | 300,099 |
| Percentage3: | 12.69% |
| Swing3: | 8.04% |
| Leader4: | Roger Motz |
| Leader Since4: | 1945 |
| Party4: | Liberal Party (Belgium) |
| Last Election4: | 33 seats, 17.18% |
| Seats4: | 17 |
| Seat Change4: | 16 |
| Popular Vote4: | 211,143 |
| Percentage4: | 8.93% |
| Swing4: | 8.25 |
| Leader5: | Pierre Clerdent Antoine Delfosse |
| Leader Since5: | 1945 |
| Party5: | Belgian Democratic Union |
| Last Election5: | New party |
| Seats5: | 1 |
| Seat Change5: | 1 |
| Popular Vote5: | 51,095 |
| Percentage5: | 2.16% |
| Swing5: | 2.16% |
| Map Size: | 300px |
| Government | |
| Posttitle: | Government after election |
| Before Election: | van Acker II |
| Before Party: | BSP/PSB-Lib-UDB-KPB/PCB |
| After Election: | Spaak II |
| After Party: | BSP/PSB |
General elections were held in Belgium on 17 February 1946.[1] The result was a victory for the Christian Social Party, which won 92 of the 202 seats in the Chamber of Representatives and 51 of the 101 seats in the Senate.[2] Voter turnout was 90.3%.[3]
They were the first elections after the Second World War and saw fundamental changes among the political parties. The Flemish National Union, which held 17 seats prior to the war and collaborated with Nazi Germany during the war, was outlawed. The Catholic Party changed into the Christian Social Party while the Belgian Labour Party changed into the Belgian Socialist Party. The Liberal Party suffered major losses, while the Christian Social Party and the Communist Party made major gains.
Following the elections, Paul-Henri Spaak formed a Socialist minority government supported by the Communists. After he failed to win the confidence of the Christian Social and Liberal parties, outgoing PM Achille Van Acker formed a new government which included Socialists, Communists and Liberals.