1878 Belgian general election

1878 Belgian general election

11 June 1878(1878-06-11)
66 of the 132 seats in theChamber of Representatives 67 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party Leader Walthère Frère-Orban Jules Malou Party Liberal Catholic Leader since Candidate for PM Candidate for PM Seats before 57 seats 67 seats Seats won 48 18 Seats after 72 60 Seat change 15 7 Popular vote 21,283 20,700 Percentage 50.31% 48.94%
Governmentbefore election Malou I Catholic Government after election Frère-Orban II Liberal

Partial general elections were held inBelgiumon 11 June, 18 June and 15 July 1878.The result was a victory for theLiberal Party,which won 72 of the 132 seats in theChamber of Representativesand 36 of the 66 seats in theSenate.Voter turnout was 62.5%, although only 56,640 people were eligible to vote.

Under the alternating system, elections for the Chamber of Representatives were only held in four out of the nine provinces:Hainaut,Limburg,LiègeandEast Flanders.Additionally, special elections were held in the arrondissements of Antwerp, Brussels and Kortrijk after these electoral districts got one extra seat due to population growth.

They were the first elections with strict guarantees forsecret ballotsfollowing the law of 9 July 1877, which contributed to the success of the liberals.

Results

Chamber of Representatives

Party		Votes	%	Seats
				Won	Total	+/–
	Liberal Party	18,966	52.61	48	72	+15
	Catholic Party	17,085	47.39	18	60	–7
Total		36,051	100.00	66	132	+8
Total votes		36,051	–
Registered voters/turnout		57,640	62.55
Source: Mackie & Rose,Sternbergeret al.

Senate

Party		Seats
	Liberal Party	36
	Catholic Party	30
Total		66
Source: Sternbergeret al.

Constituencies

The distribution of seats among the electoral districts was as follows for the Chamber of Representatives, with the difference compared to the previous election due to population growth:

Province	Arrondissement	Seats	Change
Antwerp	Antwerp	7	+1
	Mechelen	3	–
	Turnhout	3	–
Limburg	Hasselt	2	–
	Maaseik	1	–
	Tongeren	2	–
East Flanders	Aalst	3	–
	Oudenaarde	3	–
	Gent	8	+1
	Eeklo	1	–
	Dendermonde	3	–
	Sint-Niklaas	3	–
West Flanders	Bruges	3	–
	Roeselare	2	–
	Tielt	2	–
	Kortrijk	4	+1
	Ypres	3	–
	Veurne	1	–
	Diksmuide	1	–
	Ostend	1	–
Brabant	Leuven	5	–
	Brussels	14	+1
	Nivelles	4	–
Hainaut	Tournai	4	–
	Ath	2	–
	Charleroi	7	+2
	Thuin	3	–
	Mons	5	–
	Soignies	3	–
Liège	Huy	2	–
	Waremme	2	+1
	Liège	8	–
	Verviers	4	+1
Luxembourg	Arlon	1	–
	Marche	1	–
	Bastogne	1	–
	Neufchâteau	1	–
	Virton	1	–
Namur	Namur	4	–
	Dinant	2	–
	Philippeville	2	–
		132	+8