1919 Belgian general election

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]

1919 Belgian general election
Belgium
16 November 1919
All 186 seats in the Chamber of Representatives
All 93 seats in the Senate
PartyLeader % Seats
Chamber of Representatives
Labour Joseph Van Roosbroeck 36.62 70
Catholic Léon Delacroix 35.19 70
Liberal François Prosper Hanrez 17.65 34
Frontpartij 3.45 5
Catholic dissidents 2.05 3
Middle Class 1.13 1
Combatants 1.08 2
National Renaissance 1.05 1
Senate
Catholic Léon Delacroix 43.30 43
Liberal François Prosper Hanrez 30.98 30
Labour Joseph Van Roosbroeck 24.53 20
Government before Government after election
Delacroix I
National Unity (Catholic-Lab-Lib)		 Delacroix II
National Unity (Catholic-Lab-Lib)

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
PartyVotes%Seats
Belgian Labour Party645,12436.6270
Catholic Party619,91135.1970
Liberal Party310,87617.6534
Frontpartij60,8143.455
Catholic dissidents36,0632.053
Middle Class Party19,9391.131
Combatants19,0751.082
National Renaissance18,5461.051
Christene Volkspartij5,8250.330
Socialist dissidents1,1810.070
Other parties24,4461.390
Total1,761,800100.00186
Valid votes1,761,80294.68
Invalid/blank votes99,0885.32
Total votes1,860,890100.00
Registered voters/turnout2,102,71088.50
Source: Nohlen & Stöver, Belgian Elections[lower-alpha 1]

Senate
PartyVotes%Seats
Catholic Party685,04143.3043
Liberal Party490,04630.9830
Belgian Labour Party388,01124.5320
Middle Class Party10,6010.670
National Union5,2450.330
National Renaissance3,0680.190
Total1,582,012100.0093
Registered voters/turnout2,102,710–
Source: Belgian Elections

Constituencies

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

ProvinceArrondissement(s)ChamberSenate
AntwerpAntwerp157
Mechelen55
Turnhout4
Elected by the provincial council3
LimburgHasselt34
Tongeren-Maaseik4
Elected by the provincial council2
East FlandersAalst54
Oudenaarde3
Gent-Eeklo126
Dendermonde44
Sint-Niklaas4
Elected by the provincial council4
West FlandersBruges42
Roeselare-Tielt53
Kortrijk54
Ypres3
Veurne-Diksmuide-Ostend52
Elected by the provincial council3
BrabantLeuven73
Brussels2613
Nivelles42
Elected by the provincial council4
HainautTournai-Ath63
Charleroi117
Thuin3
Mons75
Soignies4
Elected by the provincial council4
LiègeHuy-Waremme42
Liège137
Verviers52
Elected by the provincial council3
LuxembourgArlon-Marche-Bastogne33
Neufchâteau-Virton3
Elected by the provincial council2
NamurNamur55
Dinant-Philippeville4
Elected by the provincial council2
Total18693 + 27

Notes
  1. The number of valid votes is two higher than the number of votes cast for parties

References
  1. Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (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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