De Croo will now present his resignation to King Philip, who retains the authority to accept or decline it based on his discretion.

Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo made the announcement of his resignation following the defeat of his Flemish Liberals and Democrats (Open VLD) party in the European elections.

"In this challenging moment, we faced defeat. Consequently, as of tomorrow, I will tender my resignation as Prime Minister," stated De Croo emotionally in a speech to his supporters on Sunday.

De Croo will now proceed to submit his resignation to King Philip, who holds the discretion to accept or reject it.

While the Open VLD was expected to trail behind nationalist and far-right parties in Flanders, its most significant decline occurred in East Flanders, De Croo's constituency, where its support dropped from 17.85% in 2019 to 10% this time, and less than 7% overall.

Despite predictions that the far-right anti-immigration Vlaams Belang party would emerge as the dominant political force in the country, the right-wing nationalist New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) maintained its leading position with an expected 22% of the votes, according to provisional results from the Ministry of the Interior.

Sunday's outcomes will trigger intricate negotiations in a country divided by language and profound regional identities. Belgium's linguistic division separates French-speaking Wallonia to the south and Dutch-speaking Flanders to the north, necessitating coalition governments comprised of parties from both regions.

Belgium holds the world record for the length of time required to form a government, having established a governing coalition in December 2021 after a total of 541 days of negotiations.

Over 8 million Belgians participated in the elections dubbed "Super Sunday" to select their regional and national representatives as well as MEPs for the new European Parliament.