Belgian general election, 1831

Last updated
Belgian general election, 1831
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg
29 August 1831 (1831-08-29) 1833  

All 102 seats in the Chamber of Representatives and all 51 seats in the Senate


Government before election

de Mûelenaere
Catholic-Liberal

Elected Government

de Mûelenaere
Catholic-Liberal

General elections were held in Belgium on 29 August 1831. [1] They were the first elections to the new bicameral parliament, as instituted by the Belgian Constitution adopted in February 1831.

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.

Contents

In the Senate elections Catholics won 31 seats and Liberals four. [1] Voter turnout was 62.2%, although only 46,000 people (1.1% of the country's population) were eligible to vote. [1]

On 8 September 1831, King Leopold I of Belgium opened the 1831-1832 parliamentary session, the first ever of the Belgian Parliament. [2]

Leopold I of Belgium German prince who became the first King of the Belgians

Leopold I was a German prince who became the first King of the Belgians following the country's independence in 1830. He reigned between July 1831 and December 1865.

Electoral system

The electoral system was defined in the Constitution of 7 February 1831 and in the electoral law of 3 March 1831.

102 members of the Chamber of Representatives and 51 members of the Senate were elected by absolute majority in 43 electoral districts. The number of representatives per district ranged from 1 to 7; the number of senators from 1 to 3; some of them were elected by joint or alternating districts.

Chamber of Representatives (Belgium) Lower house of the federal parliament of Belgium

The Chamber of Representatives is one of the two chambers in the bicameral Federal Parliament of Belgium, the other being the Senate. It is considered to be the "lower house" of the Federal Parliament.

Senate (Belgium) upper house of the Belgian federal parliament

The Senate is one of the two chambers of the bicameral Federal Parliament of Belgium, the other being the Chamber of Representatives. It is considered to be the "upper house" of the Federal Parliament. Created in 1831 as a chamber fully equal to the Chamber of Representatives, it has undergone several reforms in the past, most notably in 1993 and the reform of 2014 following the sixth Belgian state reform. The 2014 elections were the first ones without a direct election of senators. Instead, the new Senate is completely composed of members of community and regional parliaments and co-opted members. It is a chamber of the communities and regions and serves as a platform for discussion and reflection about matters between the different language communities. The Senate now only plays a very minor role in the federal legislative process. Since the reform, it only holds about ten plenary sessions a year.

Arrondissements of Belgium are subdivisions below the provinces of Belgium. There are administrative, judicial and electoral arrondissements. These may or may not relate to identical geographical areas.

Eligible to vote were men aged 25 or older who held the Belgian nationality either through birth or through grand naturalisation and who paid a cens fixed by the electoral law. The cens differentiated depending on the place of residence.

Results

Senate

PartyVotes%Seats
Catholics31
Liberals4
Independents16
Total51
Sternberger et al.

Related Research Articles

Electoral college subset of an electoral body, based on a territorial or non-territorial criteria

An electoral college is a set of electors who are selected to elect a candidate to a particular office. Often these represent different organizations, political parties, or entities, with each organization, political party or entity represented by a particular number of electors or with votes weighted in a particular way. The system can ignore the wishes of a general membership.

Parliament of Australia legislative branch of the Commonwealth of Australia

The Parliament of Australia is the legislative branch of the government of Australia. It consists of three elements: the Crown, the Senate and the House of Representatives. The combination of two elected chambers, in which the members of the Senate represent the states and territories while the members of the House represent electoral divisions according to population, is modelled on the United States Congress. Through both chambers, however, there is a fused executive, drawn from the Westminster system.

New Zealand Parliament legislative body of New Zealand

The New Zealand Parliament is the legislature of New Zealand, consisting of the Queen of New Zealand (Queen-in-Parliament) and the New Zealand House of Representatives. The Queen is usually represented by a governor-general. Before 1951, there was an upper chamber, the New Zealand Legislative Council. The Parliament was established in 1854 and is one of the oldest continuously functioning legislatures in the world.

Michigan Legislature


The Michigan Legislature is the legislature of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is organized as a bicameral body composed of an upper chamber, the Senate, and a lower chamber, the House of Representatives. Article IV of the Michigan Constitution, adopted in 1963, defines the role of the Legislature and how it is to be constituted. The primary purpose of the Legislature is to enact new laws and amend or repeal existing laws. The Legislature meets in the Capitol building in Lansing.

Florida Legislature state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida

The Florida Legislature is the Legislature of the U.S. State of Florida. It is organized as a bicameral body composed of an upper chamber, the Senate, and a lower chamber, the House of Representatives. Article III, Section 1 of the Florida Constitution, adopted in 1968, defines the role of the Legislature and how it is to be constituted. The Legislature is composed of 160 State Legislators. The primary purpose of the Legislature is to enact new laws and amend or repeal existing laws. The Legislature meets in the Florida State Capitol building in Tallahassee.

House of Representatives of Fiji former lower house of Fiji; abolished in 2003

The House of Representatives was the lower chamber of Fiji's Parliament from 1970 to 2006. It was the more powerful of the two chambers; it alone had the power to initiate legislation. The House of Representatives also had much greater jurisdiction over financial bills; the Senate could not amend them, although it might veto them. Except in the case of amendments to the Constitution, over which a veto of the Senate was absolute, the House of Representatives might override a Senatorial veto by passing the same bill a second time, in the parliamentary session immediately following the one in which it was rejected by the Senate, after a minimum period of six months.

Belgian Federal Parliament Federal Parliament of Belgium, consisting of the Chamber of Representatives and the Senate

The Belgian Federal Parliament is the bicameral parliament of Belgium. It consists of the Chamber of Representatives and the Senate. It sits in the Palace of the Nation. The Chamber of Representatives is the primary legislative body; the Senate functions only as a meeting place of the federal communities and regions.

Elections in Belgium

Elections in Belgium are organised for legislative bodies only, and not for executive functions. Direct elections take place for the European Parliament, the bicameral Federal Parliament, the Parliaments of the Communities and Regions, the provincial councils, the municipal councils and a few district councils. Voting is mandatory and all elections use proportional representation which in general requires coalition governments.

Italian Parliament legislature of Italy

The Italian Parliament is the national parliament of the Italian Republic. The Parliament is the representative body of Italian citizens and is the successor to the Parliament of the Kingdom of Sardinia (1848–1861) and the Parliament of the Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946). It is a bicameral legislature with 945 elected members and a small number of unelected members (parlamentari). It is composed of the Chamber of Deputies, with 630 members (deputati) elected on a national basis, and the Senate of the Republic, with 315 members (senatori) elected on a regional basis, plus a small number of senators for life, either appointed or ex officio. The two houses are independent from one another and never meet jointly except under circumstances specified by the Constitution.

District of Columbia voting rights Suffrage and representation of the United States capital

Voting rights of citizens in the District of Columbia differ from the rights of citizens in each of the 50 U.S. states. The United States Constitution grants each state voting representation in both houses of the United States Congress. As the U.S. capital, the District of Columbia is a special federal district, not a state, and therefore does not have voting representation in Congress. The Constitution grants Congress exclusive jurisdiction over the District in "all cases whatsoever".

Florida Senate Upper house of the Florida Legislature

The Florida Senate is the upper house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida House of Representatives being the lower house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted in 1968, defines the role of the Legislature and how it is to be constituted. The Senate is composed of 40 members, each elected from a single-member district with a population of approximately 470,000 residents. Legislative districts are drawn on the basis of population figures, provided by the federal decennial census. Senators' terms begin immediately, upon their election. The Senate Chamber is located in the State Capitol building.

Parliament of Albania Parliament of Albania

The Parliament of Albania or Kuvendi is the unicameral representative body of the citizens of the Republic of Albania; it is Albania's legislature. The Parliament is composed of not less than 140 members elected to a four-year term on the basis of direct, universal, periodic and equal suffrage by secret ballot. The Parliament is presided over by a Speaker of the Parliament, who is assisted by at least one deputy speaker. The electoral system is based on party-list proportional representation. There are 12 multi-seat constituencies, corresponding to the country's administrative divisions.

House of Representatives (Thailand) lower house of Thailand

The House of Representatives is the lower house of the National Assembly of Thailand, the legislative branch of the Thai government. The system of government of Thailand is that of a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary democracy. The system of the Thai legislative branch is modelled after the Westminster system. The House of Representatives has 500 members, all of which are democratically elected: 375 members were directly elected through single constituency elections, while the other 125 are elected through party-list proportional representation. The roles and powers of the House of Representatives were enshrined in the Constitution of 2017.

National Assembly of Thailand

The National Assembly of Thailand is the bicameral legislative branch of the government of Thailand. It convenes in the Parliament House, Dusit District, Bangkok.

Greek Senate former upper chamber of the parliament in Greece, existing until 1935

The Greek Senate was the upper chamber of the parliament in Greece, extant several times in the country's history.

United States House of Representatives lower house of the United States Congress

The United States House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they comprise the legislature of the United States.

1912 Belgian general election

Full general elections were held in Belgium on 2 June 1912.

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.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Sternberger, D, Vogel, B & Nohlen, D (1969) Die Wahl der Parlamente: Band I: Europa - Erster Halbband, p105
  2. Discours du Trône pour l'ouverture de la session 1831-1832, prononcé par Sa Majesté, Chamber of Representatives