Belgian PM resigns after elections

BRUSSELS -- The Belgian Prime Minister, Alexander De Croo, submitted the collective resignation of his government to King Philippe on Monday. The sovereign accepted the resignation and asked De Croo to continue handling current affairs until a new government is formed.

King Philippe is expected to consult political figures to initiate the process of forming a federal government. The King will receive on Monday the leaders of the largest parties elected on Sunday. These leaders will visit the sovereign in descending order of the number of seats their party won in Parliament during the elections.

More than 8.35 million people in Belgium were called to polling stations on Sunday, casting votes in the federal, regional and European elections.

Official results published by the Belgian Ministry of the Interior show that the seven-party governing coalition led by De Croo maintained a narrow majority with 76 of the 150 seats in the Federal Parliament, although De Croo's party (Open VLD) suffered a loss of seats, dropping from 12 to seven.

The New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) retained its position as the largest party in the federal parliament with 24 seats. The far-right parties, Vlaams Belang, and the Reformist Movement each secured 20 seats.

Due to the fragmentation of votes and the economic, social, and administrative differences between the various regions and linguistic communities, forming a federal government in Belgium is expected to be challenging. Belgium previously experienced a record 541-day period without a government between 2010 and 2011.