1848 Belgian general election

Full general elections were held in Belgium on 13 June 1848.[1] They followed an equalisation of the tax qualifications for voters, which widened the franchise from 1.0% of the population to 1.8%.[2] Unlike the previous rules which had favoured Conservatives and Catholics (as the requirements were lower in the countryside),[2] this benefitted the Liberal Party and damaged the Catholics, who lost more than half their seats.[2][3]

1848 Belgian general election
13 June 1848 (1848-06-13)
All 108 seats in the Chamber of Representatives
55 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party
 
Leader Charles Rogier
Party Liberal Catholic
Leader since Candidate for PM
Seats before 55 seats 53 seats
Seats won 83 25
Seat change 28 28
Popular vote 30,806 13,122
Percentage 69.52% 29.61%
Government before election

Rogier I
Liberal

 Elected Government

Rogier I
Liberal

Belgium
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Belgium

Background

The existing electoral law differentiated in tax requirements between cities and countryside; cities (where Liberals were stronger) had to pay higher taxes in order to vote, compared to the countryside (where Catholics were stronger).

The Liberal Party held its founding congress two years earlier, on 13 June 1846, where it approved a proposal to lower the tax requirements in order to expand suffrage. By 1848, in the context of the Revolutions of 1848, reform was unavoidable. On the proposal of Liberal head of government Charles Rogier, the Parliament approved the law of 12 March 1848, which equalised and lowered the tax requirements to its constitutional minimum.

The new law benefited the Liberals, leading them to victory in these elections. The Liberals would retain their dominant position for the most part until 1884.

Campaign

One Chamber seat was uncontested, and won by the Liberal Party.[4]

Results

Chamber of Representatives
Party Votes % Seats +/–
Liberal Party30,80659.583+28
Catholics13,12229.625–28
Others3830.900
Invalid/blank votes8,644−−−
Total52,9551001080
Registered voters/turnout79,07656.0−−
Sternberger et al., Mackie & Rose

The vote figures do not include the constituency of Oudenaarde.[4]

Senate
Party Votes % Seats +/–
Liberal Party31+11
Catholics22–10
Others1–1
Total540
Sternberger et al.

References
  1. Codebook Constituency-level Elections Archive, 2003
  2. Nohlen, Dieter; Stöver, Philip (31 May 2010). Elections in Europe: A data handbook. Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft. pp. 271–271. ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7.
  3. Sternberger, D, Vogel, B & Nohlen, D (1969) Die Wahl der Parlamente: Band I: Europa - Erster Halbband, p105
  4. Thomas T Mackie & Richard Rose (1991) The International Almanac of Electoral History, Macmillan, p46
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