1900 Belgian general election

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1900 Belgian general election
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg
  1898 27 May 1900 1902  

All 152 seats in the Chamber of Representatives
 First partySecond partyThird party
  Paul de Smet de Naeyer.jpg 3x4.svg 3x4.svg
Leader Paul de Smet de Naeyer August De Winne
Party Catholic Labour Liberal
Seats won863231
Popular vote993,945461,295464,959
Percentage48.46%22.49%22.67%

Government before election

de Smet de Naeyer II
Catholic

Government after election

de Smet de Naeyer II
Catholic

Full general elections were held in Belgium on 27 May 1900. [1]

Contents

They were the first elections under a proportional system (using the D'Hondt method) instead of a majority system. [2] Belgium became the first country to adopt proportional representation as basis of its electoral system. To make the system possible, smaller electoral districts (arrondissements) were grouped into a single electoral district (a group of arrondissements). The introduction of proportional representation was beneficial to the Liberal Party, which significantly increased its number of seats. The Liberal Party previously suffered losses after the introduction of universal suffrage in 1894.

The Catholic Party thus lost seats but retained its absolute majority, with 86 of the 152 seats in the Chamber of Representatives and 44 of the 76 seats in the Senate. [3]

Results

Chamber of Representatives

Belgian Chamber 1900.svg
PartyVotes%Seats
Catholic Party 993,94548.4686
Liberal Party 464,95922.6731
Belgian Labour Party 461,29522.4932
Christene Volkspartij 52,0932.541
Radical Party 33,8401.652
Other parties44,7822.180
Total2,050,914100.00152
Registered voters/turnout2,269,414
Source: Belgian Elections

Senate

Belgium Senate 1900.svg
PartyVotes%Seats
Catholic Party 911,26252.8144
Liberal Party 565,76732.7923
Belgian Labour Party 119,0006.904
Radical Party 78,1954.534
Social Radical Party17,8381.031
Liberal dissidents4,6330.270
Independents28,9701.680
Total1,725,665100.0076
Registered voters/turnout2,020,987
Source: Nohlen & Stöver, Belgian Elections

Constituencies

The distribution of seats among the electoral districts was as follows for the Chamber of Representatives. [4] As the electoral system changed to a proportional one, the electoral arrondissements with only one or two representatives were grouped together to form larger ones. Each electoral district now had at least 3 representatives, with the exception of Neufchâteau-Virton.

ProvinceArrondissementPreviousNew
Antwerp Antwerp 11
Mechelen 4
Turnhout 3
Limburg Hasselt 3
Maaseik 13
Tongeren 2
East Flanders Aalst 4
Oudenaarde 3
Gent 910
Eeklo 1
Dendermonde 3
Sint-Niklaas 4
West Flanders Bruges 3
Roeselare 24
Tielt 2
Kortrijk 4
Ypres 3
Veurne 14
Diksmuide 1
Ostend 2
Brabant Leuven 6
Brussels 18
Nivelles 4
Hainaut Tournai 46
Ath 2
Charleroi 8
Thuin 3
Mons 6
Soignies 3
Liège Huy 24
Waremme 2
Liège 11
Verviers 4
Luxembourg Arlon 13
Marche 1
Bastogne 1
Neufchâteau 12
Virton 1
Namur Namur 4
Dinant 24
Philippeville 2
152152

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References

  1. Nohlen, Dieter; Stöver, Philip (31 May 2010). Elections in Europe: A data handbook. Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft. p. 289. ISBN   978-3-8329-5609-7.
  2. Shepherd, William R. (1900). "Record of Political Events". Political Science Quarterly. 15 (4): 760. doi:10.2307/2140482. ISSN   0032-3195.
  3. Nohlen & Stöver, pp307-310
  4. List of members of the Chamber of Representatives (1900-1901)