1894 Belgian general election

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1894 Belgian general election

← 1892 14 October 1894 (1894-10-14) 1896 →

All 152 seats in the Chamber of Representatives
77 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party
  Jules de burlet.jpg No image.png
Leader Jules de Burlet Grégoire Serwy
Party Catholic Labour
Leader since Candidate for PM 1893
Seats before 92 seats 0 seats
Seats won 102 27
Seat change Increase 10 Increase 27
Popular vote 926,987 301,940
Percentage 56.38% 18.36%

  Third party Fourth party
  No image.png No image.png
Leader N/A
Party Liberal LSK
Leader since N/A
Seats before 60 seats New
Seats won 17 4
Seat change Decrease 43 New
Popular vote 515,808 32,914
Percentage 31.37% 2.00%

Belgian Chamber 1894.svg

Government before election

de Burlet
Catholic

Government after election

de Burlet
Catholic

Full general elections were held in Belgium on 14 October 1894,[1] with run-off elections held on 21 October 1894.

The elections followed several major reforms: they were the first held under universal male suffrage for those over the age of 25.[2] This followed the abolition of tax qualifications, and increased the number of voters tenfold.[2] Voting was also made compulsory. Provincial senators were introduced in addition to the existing directly elected ones.

The electoral reforms were implemented in 1893 under the Catholic government led by Auguste Beernaert, who had been in power for nearly ten years, but who resigned because his proposal for proportional representation was rejected. A government led by Jules de Burlet took over in March 1894.

The result was a victory for the Catholic Party, which won all seats in every Flemish arrondissement, in Brussels and in seven rural Walloon arrondissements, giving a total of 104 of the 152 seats in the Chamber of Representatives.[3] The Belgian Labour Party gained parliamentary representation for the first time, winning all seats of Mons, Soignies, Charleroi, Verviers, 6 seats in Liège and one in Namur. Meanwhile, the Liberal Party, despite receiving more votes than the socialists, won only 20 seats and thus lost two-thirds of its seats.[4] This was caused by the concentration of socialists in industrial Walloon areas, compared to the dispersed presence of liberal voters throughout the country. This highlighted the need for a proportional system, which would eventually be introduced in 1899.

Results[]

Chamber of Representatives[]

PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Catholic Party926,98750.05102+10
Liberal Party515,80827.8517–43
Belgian Labour Party301,94016.3027+27
LiberalSocialist kartels32,9141.784New
Christian Democratic Party26,2241.421+1
Other parties48,3542.611+1
Total1,852,227100.001520
Valid votes1,644,20496.00
Invalid/blank votes68,4634.00
Total votes1,712,667100.00
Registered voters/turnout2,085,60582.12
Source: Belgian Elections

Senate[]

76 senators (half the number of representatives) were directly elected and 26 senators were chosen by the provincial councils, giving a total of 102 senators.

Party Votes % Seats
Catholic Party 597,184 52.5
Liberal Party 495,288 43.5
Liberal-Socialist Cartels 28,812 2.5
Belgian Labour Party 16,535 1.5
Invalid/blank votes
Total 1,137,819 100
Source: Nohlen & Stöver

Constituencies[]

The distribution of seats among the electoral districts was as follows for the Chamber of Representatives and the Senate.[5] There were no changes in districts and seat distribution compared to the previous election, except for the introduction of provincial senators.

Province Arrondissement Chamber Won by Senate Won by
Antwerp Antwerp 11 Catholics 5 Catholics
Mechelen 4 Catholics 2 Catholics
Turnhout 3 Catholics 2 Catholics
Elected by the provincial council 3 Catholics
Limburg Hasselt 3 Catholics 1 Catholics
Maaseik 1 Catholics 1 Catholics
Tongeren 2 Catholics 1 Catholics
Elected by the provincial council 2 Catholics
East Flanders Aalst 4 Catholics 2 Catholics
Oudenaarde 3 Catholics 1 Catholics
Gent 9 Catholics 4 Catholics
Eeklo 1 Catholics 1 Catholics
Dendermonde 3 Catholics 2 Catholics
Sint-Niklaas 4 Catholics 2 Catholics
Elected by the provincial council 3 Catholics
West Flanders Bruges 3 Catholics 2 Catholics
Roeselare 2 Catholics 1 Catholics
Tielt 2 Catholics 1 Catholics
Kortrijk 4 Catholics 2 Catholics
Ypres 3 Catholics 1 Catholics
Veurne 1 Catholics 1 Catholics
Diksmuide 1 Catholics
Ostend 2 Catholics 1 Catholics
Elected by the provincial council 3 Catholics
Brabant Leuven 6 Catholics 3 Catholics
Brussels 18 Catholics 9 Catholics
Nivelles 4 Liberals (3), Catholics (1) 2 Liberals
Elected by the provincial council 4 Catholics
Hainaut Tournai 4 Catholics 2 Catholics
Ath 2 Catholics 1 Catholics
Charleroi 8 Socialists 4 Liberals
Thuin 3 Liberals 1 Liberals
Mons 6 Socialists 3 Liberals
Soignies 3 Socialists 2 Liberals
Elected by the provincial council 4 Liberals (2), Socialists (2)
Liège Huy 2 Liberals 1 Liberals
Waremme 2 Catholics 1 Liberals
Liège 11 Socialists (6), Liberals (5) 5 Liberals
Verviers 4 Socialists 2 Liberals (1), Catholics (1)
Elected by the provincial council 3 Liberals
Luxembourg Arlon 1 Liberals 1 Liberals
Virton 1 Liberals
Marche 1 Catholics 1 Catholics
Bastogne 1 Catholics
Neufchâteau 1 Catholics 1 Catholics
Elected by the provincial council 2 Catholics
Namur Namur 4 Liberals (3), Socialists (1) 2 Liberals
Dinant 2 Catholics 1 Catholics
Philippeville 2 Liberals 1 Liberals
Elected by the provincial council 2 Catholics
152 76+26

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. ^ a b Nohlen & Stöver, p272
  3. ^ Nohlen & Stöver, p307
  4. ^ Nohlen & Stöver, p273
  5. ^ List of members of the Chamber of Representatives (1894-1895)
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