1936 Belgian general election

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1936 Belgian general election
← 1932 24 May 1936 1939 →
All 202 seats in the Chamber of Representatives
All 101 seats in the Senate
  First party Second party Third party
  Émile Vandervelde 1919.jpg Paul van Zeeland, 1937.jpg No image.png
Leader Emile Vandervelde Paul van Zeeland Léon Dens
Party Labour Catholic Liberal
Leader since 1933 Candidate for PM 1935
Last election 73 seats, 37.03% 79 seats, 38.42% 24 seats, 14.08%
Seats won 70 61 23
Seat change Decrease 3 Decrease 18 Decrease 1
Popular vote 758,485 653,717 292,970
Percentage 32.11% 27.67% 12.40%
Swing Decrease 4.92% Decrease 10.75% Decrease 1.68%
  Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party
  Degrelle, Leon.jpg Staf De Clercq (1884-1942).jpg Kerkhof Sint-Gillis 25.jpg
Leader Léon Degrelle Staf De Clercq Joseph Jacquemotte
Party Rexist VNV PVDA-PTB
Leader since 1935 1933 1934
Last election New New 3 seats, 2.90%
Seats won 21 16 9
Seat change New New Increase 6
Popular vote 271,481 164,253 143,223
Percentage 11.49% 7.06% 6.06%
Swing New New Increase 3.16%
Government before election

van Zeeland I
National Unity (Catholic-Lab-Lib)

Government after election

van Zeeland II
National Unity (Catholic-Lab-Lib)

Prime Minister Paul van Zeeland

General elections were held in Belgium on 24 May 1936.[1] The result was a victory for the Belgian Labour Party, which won 70 of the 202 seats in the Chamber of Representatives and 39 of the 101 seats in the Senate.[2] Voter turnout was 94.7%.[3]

Despite the rise of far-right and far-left parties, Paul van Zeeland continued as Prime Minister leading a government of national unity, composed of the three major parties (Catholics, Socialists and Liberals).

Results[]

Chamber of Representatives[]

Belgian Chamber 1936.svg
Party Votes % Seats +/–
Belgian Labour Party 758,485 32.11 70 –3
Catholic Party 653,717 27.67 61 –18
Liberal Party 292,970 12.40 23 –1
Rexist Party 271,481 11.49 21 New
Flemish National Union 166,737 7.06 16 +8
Communist Party of Belgium 143,223 6.06 9 +6
Christian Democratic Party 22,224 0.94 2 New
Other parties 53,599 2.29 0 0
Invalid/blank votes 148,810 – – –
Total 2,511,246 100 202 +15
Source: Belgian Elections

Senate[]

Belgium Senate 1936.svg
Party Votes % Seats +/–
Belgian Labour Party 769,498 33.46 39 0
Catholic Party 667,739 29.04 34 –8
Liberal Party 297,280 12.93 11 0
Rexist Party 250,272 10.88 8 New
Flemish National Union 160,212 6.97 5 +4
Communist Party of Belgium 110,855 4.82 4 +4
Christian Democratic Party 19,477 0.85 0 0
Other parties 24,175 1.05 0 0
Invalid/blank votes 209,055 – – –
Total 2,508,489 100 101 +8
Source: Belgian Elections

Constituencies[]

The distribution of seats among the electoral districts of the Chamber of Representatives was as follows.[4] Several arrondissements got one or more additional seats. Roeselare-Tielt lost one seat, which was a rare occurrence since population generally increased throughout the Belgian territory with each census.

Province Arrondissement(s) Seats Change
Antwerp Antwerp 18 +3
Mechelen 6 +1
Turnhout 5 +1
Limburg Hasselt 4 +1
Tongeren-Maaseik 5 +1
East Flanders Aalst 6 +1
Oudenaarde 3 –
Gent-Eeklo 12 –
Dendermonde 4 –
Sint-Niklaas 4 –
West Flanders Bruges 4 –
Roeselare-Tielt 4 –1
Kortrijk 6 +1
Ypres 3 –
Veurne-Diksmuide-Ostend 5 –
Brabant Leuven 7 –
Brussels 30 +4
Nivelles 5 +1
Hainaut Tournai-Ath 6 –
Charleroi 11 –
Thuin 4 +1
Mons 7 –
Soignies 3 –
Liège Huy-Waremme 4 –
Liège 14 +1
Verviers 5 –
Luxembourg Arlon-Marche-Bastogne 3 –
Neufchâteau-Virton 3 –
Namur Namur 5 –
Dinant-Philippeville 4 –
Total 202 +15

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. ^ Nohlen & Stöver, pp308-310
  3. ^ Nohlen & Stöver, p290
  4. ^ List of members of the Chamber of Representatives (1936)
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