Belgian general election, 1919

Belgian general election, 1919
Belgium
16 November 1919
All 186 seats in the Chamber of Representatives
All 93 seats in the Senate

General elections were held in Belgium on 16 November 1919.[1] Although the Belgian Labour Party received the most votes in the Chamber of Representatives elections, the Catholic Party remained the largest party in both the Chamber and the Senate.[2] Voter turnout was 88.5% in the Chamber elections.[3]

They were the first elections after the First World War, and the first with universal single-vote suffrage (for men), a change that was sought by and benefited the Belgian Labour Party. The voting age was also lowered from 25 to 21, and the system of proportional representation was modified to use apparentment (combining votes of different arrondissements within a province).

Results

Chamber of Representatives

Party Votes % Seats
Belgian Labour Party645,12436.670
Catholic Party619,91135.273
Liberal Party310,87617.634
Frontpartij60,8143.55
Catholic Dissidents41,8882.44
Leftist Dissidents1,1810.1
Other parties82,0064.7
Invalid/blank votes99,088
Total1,860,890100186
Source: Nohlen & Stöver

Senate

Party Votes % Seats +/–
Catholic Party685,04143.343–11
Liberal Party490,04631.030+16
Belgian Labour Party388,01124.520+11
Other parties14,1241.200
Invalid/blank votes
Total1,582,012100930
Source: Nohlen & Stöver

Constituencies

The distribution of seats among the electoral districts was as follows:[4][5]

Province Arrondissement(s) Chamber Senate
Antwerp Antwerp 15 7
Mechelen 5 5
Turnhout 4
Elected by the provincial council 3
Limburg Hasselt 3 4
Tongeren-Maaseik 4
Elected by the provincial council 2
East Flanders Aalst 5 4
Oudenaarde 3
Gent-Eeklo 12 6
Dendermonde 4 4
Sint-Niklaas 4
Elected by the provincial council 4
West Flanders Bruges 4 2
Roeselare-Tielt 5 3
Kortrijk 5 4
Ypres 3
Veurne-Diksmuide-Ostend 5 2
Elected by the provincial council 3
Brabant Leuven 7 3
Brussels 26 13
Nivelles 4 2
Elected by the provincial council 4
Hainaut Tournai-Ath 6 3
Charleroi 11 7
Thuin 3
Mons 7 5
Soignies 4
Elected by the provincial council 4
Liège Huy-Waremme 4 2
Liège 13 7
Verviers 5 2
Elected by the provincial council 3
Luxembourg Arlon-Marche-Bastogne 3 3
Neufchâteau-Virton 3
Elected by the provincial council 2
Namur Namur 5 5
Dinant-Philippeville 4
Elected by the provincial council 2
Total 186 93 + 27

References

  1. Nohlen, D & Stöver, P (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p289 ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7
  2. Nohlen & Stöver, pp308-310
  3. Nohlen & Stöver, p290
  4. List of members of the Chamber of Representatives (1919-1920)
  5. List of members of the Senate (1919-1920)
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