1866 Belgian general election

Partial general elections were held in Belgium on 12 June 1866.[1][2] In the elections for the Chamber of Representatives the result was a victory for the Liberal Party, which won 70 of the 122 seats.[2] Voter turnout was 70%, although only 51,465 people were eligible to vote.

1866 Belgian general election

← 1864 12 June 1866 (1866-06-12) 1868 →

61 of the 122 seats in the Chamber of Representatives
62 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party
 
Leader Charles Rogier
Party Liberal Catholic
Leader since Candidate for PM
Seats before 64 seats 52 seats
Seats won 43 18
Seats after 70 52
Seat change Increase 6 Steady
Popular vote 20,965 15,060
Percentage 58.20% 41.80%

Government before election

Rogier II
Liberal

Government after election

Rogier II
Liberal

Under the alternating system, elections were only held in four out of the nine provinces: Hainaut, Limburg, Liège and East Flanders. Special elections were held in the arrondissements of Antwerp, Brussels and Leuven.

Results

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Chamber of Representatives

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PartyVotes%Seats
WonTotal+/–
Liberal Party20,96558.204370+6
Catholics15,06041.8018520
Total36,025100.0061122+6
Total votes36,025
Registered voters/turnout51,46570.00
Source: Mackie & Rose,[3] Sternberger et al.

Constituencies

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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:[4]

Province Arrondissement Seats Change
Antwerp Antwerp 6 +1
Mechelen 3
Turnhout 3
Limburg Hasselt 2
Maaseik 1
Tongeren 2
East Flanders Aalst 3
Oudenaarde 3
Gent 8
Eeklo 1
Dendermonde 3
Sint-Niklaas 3
West Flanders Bruges 3
Roeselare 2
Tielt 2
Kortrijk 4
Ypres 3
Veurne 1
Diksmuide 1
Ostend 1
Brabant Leuven 5 +1
Brussels 13 +2
Nivelles 4
Hainaut Tournai 4
Ath 2
Charleroi 5 +1
Thuin 3 +1
Mons 5
Soignies 3
Liège Huy 2
Waremme 1
Liège 8 +1
Verviers 3
Luxembourg Arlon 1
Marche 1
Bastogne 1
Neufchâteau 1
Virton 1
Namur Namur 4
Dinant 2
Philippeville 2 +1
124 +8

References

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  1. ^ Codebook Constituency-level Elections Archive, 2003
  2. ^ a b Sternberger, D, Vogel, B & Nohlen, D (1969) Die Wahl der Parlamente: Band I: Europa - Erster Halbband, p105
  3. ^ Thomas T. Mackie & Richard Rose (1991) The International Almanac of Electoral History, Macmillan, pp48–49
  4. ^ List of members of the Chamber of Representatives (1866-1967)