1878 Belgian general election

Partial general elections were held in Belgium on 11 June, 18 June and 15 July 1878.[1][2] The result was a victory for the Liberal Party, which won 72 of the 132 seats in the Chamber of Representatives and 36 of the 66 seats in the Senate.[2] Voter turnout was 62.5%, although only 56,640 people were eligible to vote.

1878 Belgian general election

11 June 1878 (1878-06-11)

66 of the 132 seats in the Chamber of Representatives
67 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party
 
Leader Walthère Frère-Orban Jules Malou
Party Liberal Catholic
Leader since Candidate for PM Candidate for PM
Seats before 57 seats 67 seats
Seats won 48 18
Seats after 72 60
Seat change Increase 15 Decrease 7
Popular vote 21,283 20,700
Percentage 50.31% 48.94%

Government before election

Malou I
Catholic

Government after election

Frère-Orban II
Liberal

Under the alternating system, elections for the Chamber of Representatives were only held in four out of the nine provinces: Hainaut, Limburg, Liège and East Flanders. Additionally, special elections were held in the arrondissements of Antwerp, Brussels and Kortrijk after these electoral districts got one extra seat due to population growth.

They were the first elections with strict guarantees for secret ballots following the law of 9 July 1877, which contributed to the success of the liberals.

Results

Chamber of Representatives

PartyVotes%Seats
WonTotal+/–
Liberal Party18,96652.614872+15
Catholic Party17,08547.391860–7
Total36,051100.0066132+8
Total votes36,051
Registered voters/turnout57,64062.55
Source: Mackie & Rose,[3] Sternberger et al.

Senate

PartySeats
Liberal Party36
Catholic Party30
Total66
Source: Sternberger et al.

Constituencies

The distribution of seats among the electoral districts was as follows for the Chamber of Representatives, with the difference compared to the previous election due to population growth:[4]

ProvinceArrondissementSeatsChange
AntwerpAntwerp7+1
Mechelen3
Turnhout3
LimburgHasselt2
Maaseik1
Tongeren2
East FlandersAalst3
Oudenaarde3
Gent8+1
Eeklo1
Dendermonde3
Sint-Niklaas3
West FlandersBruges3
Roeselare2
Tielt2
Kortrijk4+1
Ypres3
Veurne1
Diksmuide1
Ostend1
BrabantLeuven5
Brussels14+1
Nivelles4
HainautTournai4
Ath2
Charleroi7+2
Thuin3
Mons5
Soignies3
LiègeHuy2
Waremme2+1
Liège8
Verviers4+1
LuxembourgArlon1
Marche1
Bastogne1
Neufchâteau1
Virton1
NamurNamur4
Dinant2
Philippeville2
132+8

References

  1. Codebook Constituency-level Elections Archive, 2003
  2. Sternberger, D, Vogel, B & Nohlen, D (1969) Die Wahl der Parlamente: Band I: Europa - Erster Halbband, p105
  3. Thomas T. Mackie & Richard Rose (1991) The International Almanac of Electoral History, Macmillan, pp48–49
  4. List of members of the Chamber of Representatives (1878)
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