The splitting of the Belgian Socialist Party into two autonomous parties for Flanders and Wallonia in 1978 stressed the earlier observed trend to abandon the procedure of internal pre-elections for the purpose of composing the parliamentary candidate-lists. The technique of the so-called party-polls is welt respected in the French speaking socialist party (Wallonia), but almost completely abandoned in Flanders, where it has been replaced by arrondissemental congresses. Besides, members' participation in these polls, if organised, is rather low.