1847 Belgian general election

1847 Belgian general election

8 June 1847 (1847-06-08)
54 of the 108 seats in the Chamber of Representatives 55 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party   Leader Charles Rogier Barthélémy de Theux de Meylandt Party Liberal Catholic Leader since Candidate for PM Candidate for PM Seats won 33 21 Seats after 55 53 Popular vote 9,142 8,298 Percentage 52.12% 47.31%
Government before election de Theux de Meylandt II Catholic Government after election Rogier I Liberal

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. Only 1% of the country's population was eligible to vote.

Under the alternating system, Chamber elections were only held in four out of the nine provinces: East Flanders, Hainaut, Liège and Limburg. Thus, 54 of the 108 Chamber seats were up for election. The total number of Chamber seats increased from 98 to 108 following a reapportionment due to population increases.

While the liberals gained a majority in the Chamber, the Catholics retained theirs in the Senate. Following the election, the Catholic government led by Barthélémy de Theux de Meylandt resigned. After a political crisis of two months, a liberal government was formed on 12 August 1847, headed by Charles Rogier. The liberals would go on to win the 1848 elections.

Results

Chamber of Representatives

Party		Votes	%	Seats
				Won	Total
	Liberal Association	9,142	52.12	33	55
	Catholics	8,298	47.31	21	53
	Others	101	0.58	0	0
Total		17,541	100.00	54	108
Total votes		17,541	–
Registered voters/turnout		22,572	77.71
Source: Mackie & Rose

Senate

Party		Seats	+/–
	Catholics	32	0
	Liberal Association	20	+7
	Independents	2	–1
Total		54	+7
Source: Sternberger et al.