Belgian general election, 1859

Last updated
Belgian general election, 1859
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg
←  1857 14 June 1859 (1859-06-14) 1861  →
58 of the 116 seats in the Chamber of Representatives
57 seats needed for a majority

 First partySecond party
  Charlesrogier.jpg No image.png
Leader Charles Rogier
Party Liberal Catholic
Leader sinceCandidate for PM
Seats before70 seats38 seats
Seats won3127
Seats after6947
Seat changeDecrease2.svg 1Increase2.svg 9
Popular vote15,05212,726
Percentage54.19%45.81%
Government before election

Rogier II
Liberal

Elected Government

Rogier II
Liberal

Kingdom of Belgium
State Coat of Arms of Belgium.svg
This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
Belgium
Constitution
Foreign relations

Partial general elections were held in Belgium on 14 June 1859. [1] [2] The result was a victory for the Liberal Party, which won 69 of the 116 seats in the Chamber of Representatives and 31 of the 58 seats in the Senate. [2] Voter turnout was 55.9%, although only 49,672 people were eligible to vote.

Belgium Federal constitutional monarchy in Western Europe

Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Western Europe. It is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to the southwest, and the North Sea to the northwest. It covers an area of 30,688 square kilometres (11,849 sq mi) and has a population of more than 11.4 million. The capital and largest city is Brussels; other major cities are Antwerp, Ghent, Charleroi and Liège.

The Liberal Party was a Belgian political party that existed from 1846 until 1961, when it became the Party for Freedom and Progress, Partij voor Vrijheid en Vooruitgang/Parti de la Liberté et du Progrès or PVV-PLP, under the leadership of Omer Vanaudenhove.

Contents

Under the alternating system, elections for the Chamber of Representatives were only held in five out of the nine provinces: Antwerp, Brabant, Luxembourg, Namur and West Flanders. Additionally, special elections were held on the same day in the arrondissements of Charleroi, Liège and Mons.

Luxembourg (Belgium) Province of Belgium

Luxembourg, also called Belgian Luxembourg, is the southernmost province of Wallonia and of Belgium. It borders on the country of Luxembourg, France, and the Belgian provinces of Namur and Liège. Its capital is Arlon, in the south-east of the province.

Campaign

Twelve of the 58 seats were uncontested, of which the Catholics won nine and the Liberals three. [3]

Results

Chamber of Representatives

PartyVotes%Seats
WonTotal+/–
Liberal Party 15,05254.23169–1
Catholics12,72645.82747+9
Invalid/blank votes10,194––––
Total37,97210058116+8
Registered voters/turnout49,67255.9–––
Source: Mackie & Rose, [3] Sternberger et al

The results exclude the voting figures for the Leper Colony seat. [3]

Senate

PartyVotes%Seats
Liberal Party 31
Catholics27
Total58
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
Antwerp Antwerp 6–
Mechelen 3–
Turnhout 3+1
Limburg Hasselt 2–
Maaseik 1–
Tongeren 2–
East Flanders Aalst 3–
Oudenaarde 3–
Gent 8–
Eeklo 1–
Dendermonde 3–
Sint-Niklaas 3–
West Flanders Bruges 3–
Roeselare 2–
Tielt 2–
Kortrijk 4–
Ypres 3–
Veurne 1–
Diksmuide 1–
Ostend 1–
Brabant Leuven 4–
Brussels 11+2
Nivelles 4–
Hainaut Tournai 4–
Ath 2–
Charleroi 4+1
Thuin 2–
Mons 5+1
Soignies 3–
Liège Huy 2–
Waremme 1–
Liège 7+2
Verviers 3–
Luxembourg Arlon 1–
Marche 1–
Bastogne 1–
Neufchâteau 1–
Virton 1–
Namur Namur 4+1
Dinant 2–
Philippeville 2–
116+8

Related Research Articles

1894 Belgian general election

Full general elections were held in Belgium on 14 October 1894, with run-off elections held on 21 October 1894.

1902 Belgian general election

Partial general elections were held in Belgium on 25 May 1902. The result was a victory for the Catholic Party, which won 54 of the 85 seats up for election in the Chamber of Representatives. Voter turnout was 95.7%.

1847 Belgian general election

Partial general elections were held in Belgium on 8 June 1847. The result was a victory for the new Liberal Association, which had been formed the previous year. It won 33 seats to the Catholics' 21, as the latter were split into dogmatic and liberal groups. Voter turnout was 77%, although only 1% of the country's population was eligible to vote.

1850 Belgian general election

Partial general elections were held in Belgium on 11 June 1850. In the Chamber of Representatives elections the result was a victory for the Liberal Party, who won 69 of the 108 seats. Voter turnout was 69.1%, although only 40,435 people were eligible to vote.

1852 Belgian general election

Partial general elections were held in Belgium on 8 June 1852. In the elections for the Chamber of Representatives the result was a victory for the Liberal Party, who won 57 of the 108 seats. Voter turnout was 69.2%, although only 42,053 people were eligible to vote.

1854 Belgian general election

PArtial general elections were held in Belgium on 13 June 1854. In the elections for the Chamber of Representatives the Liberal Party and Catholics won 54 seats each. Voter turnout was 61%, although only 45,884 people were eligible to vote.

1856 Belgian general election

Partial general elections were held in Belgium on 10 June 1856. In the elections for the Chamber of Representatives the result was a victory for the Catholics, who won 63 of the 108 seats. Voter turnout was 60.6%, although only 43,573 people were eligible to vote.

1857 Belgian general election

General elections were held in Belgium on 10 December 1857, the first full general elections since 1848. The elections were called by royal order of 12 November 1857, dissolving the Chamber of Representatives that had convened in a new session only two days earlier.

1861 Belgian general election

Partial general elections were held in Belgium on 11 June 1861. In the elections for the Chamber of Representatives the result was a victory for the Liberal Party, which won 66 of the 116 seats. Voter turnout was 58.4%, although only 47,555 people were eligible to vote.

1864 Belgian general election

General elections were held in Belgium on 11 August 1864, the first full general elections since 1857. Although the Catholics received the most votes for seats in the Chamber of Representatives, the result was a victory for the Liberal Party, which won 64 of the 116 seats. Voter turnout was 76.7%, although only 103,717 people were eligible to vote.

1866 Belgian general election

Partial general elections were held in Belgium on 12 June 1866. In the elections for the Chamber of Representatives the result was a victory for the Liberal Party, which won 70 of the 122 seats. Voter turnout was 70%, although only 51,465 people were eligible to vote.

1868 Belgian general election

General elections were held in Belgium on 9 June 1868. In the elections for the Chamber of Representatives the result was a victory for the Liberal Party, which won 72 of the 122 seats. Voter turnout was 55.6%, although only 55,297 people were eligible to vote.

June 1870 Belgian general election

Partial general elections were held in Belgium on 11 June 1870. In the elections for the Chamber of Representatives the Liberal Party and the Catholic Party both won 61 seats. Voter turnout was 60%, although only 51,435 people were eligible to vote. Early elections were held later in the year.

1880 Belgian general election

Partial general elections were held in Belgium on 8 June 1880. In the elections for the Chamber of Representatives the result was a victory for the Liberal Party, which won 74 of the 132 seats. Voter turnout was 67.2%, although only 62,936 people were eligible to vote.

1886 Belgian general election

Partial general elections were held in Belgium on 8 June 1886. In the elections for the Chamber of Representatives the result was a victory for the Catholic Party, which won 98 of the 138 seats.

1863 Belgian general election

Partial general elections were held in Belgium on 9 June 1863. The result was a victory for the Liberal Party, which won 59 of the 116 seats in the Chamber of Representatives and 33 of the 58 seats in the Senate. Voter turnout was 74.5%, although only 52,519 people were eligible to vote.

1874 Belgian general election

Partial general elections were held in Belgium on 9 June 1874. The result was a victory for the Catholic Party, which won 68 of the 124 seats in the Chamber of Representatives and 34 of the 62 seats in the Senate. Voter turnout was 64.1%, although only 52,074 people were eligible to vote.

1878 Belgian general election

Partial general elections were held in Belgium on 11 June, 18 June and 15 July 1878. 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. Voter turnout was 62.5%, although only 56,640 people were eligible to vote.

1882 Belgian general election

Partial general elections were held in Belgium on 13 June 1882. The result was a victory for the Liberal Party, which won 79 of the 138 seats in the Chamber of Representatives and 37 of the 69 seats in the Senate. Voter turnout was 75.1%, although only 55,517 people were eligible to vote.

1884 Belgian general election

Legislative elections were held in Belgium in June and July 1884, for partial Chamber and full Senate elections respectively. Voter turnout was 79.1% in the Chamber of Representatives elections, although only 69,276 people were eligible to vote.

References

  1. ↑ Codebook Constituency-level Elections Archive, 2003
  2. 1 2 Sternberger, D, Vogel, B & Nohlen, D (1969) Die Wahl der Parlamente: Band I: Europa - Erster Halbband, p105
  3. 1 2 3 Thomas T Mackie & Richard Rose (1991) The International Almanac of Electoral History, Macmillan, p46
  4. ↑ List of members of the Chamber of Representatives (1859)
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.