1902 Belgian general election

Partial general elections were held in Belgium on 25 May 1902.[1] The result was a victory for the Catholic Party, which won 54 of the 85 seats up for election in the Chamber of Representatives.[2] Voter turnout was 95.7%.[3]

1902 Belgian general election

← 1900 25 May 1902 1904 →

85 of the 162 seats in the Chamber of Representatives
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Paul de Smet de Naeyer August De Winne
Party Catholic Liberal Labour
Seats won 54 20 10
Popular vote 596,382 266,891 159,370
Percentage 56.00% 25.06% 14.97%

Government before election

de Smet de Naeyer II
Catholic

Government after election

de Smet de Naeyer II
Catholic

Under the alternating system, elections were only held in five out of the nine provinces: Antwerp, Brabant, Luxembourg, Namur and West Flanders. In addition to the regular elections for these 85 seats, elections were held for one seat (6 in total) in Ghent-Eeklo, Aalst, Soignies, Charleroi, Liège and Verviers because the number of representatives increased for these electoral arrondissements following the population census.

A month earlier, a general strike was held, aimed at forcing electoral reform and notably the end of the system of plural voting. However, it was unsuccessful. The Catholic Party, being against reform, even strengthened its majority in the elections.

Results

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PartyVotes%Seats
Won
Catholic Party596,38256.0054
Liberal Party266,89125.0620
Belgian Labour Party159,37014.9710
Christene Volkspartij26,4352.481
Merchants6,0270.570
Independents9,8210.920
Total1,064,926100.0085
Source: Belgian Elections

Constituencies

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The distribution of seats among the electoral districts was as follows.[4] Several arrondissements got one or more additional seats, following the population census.

Province Arrondissement(s) Seats Change
Antwerp Antwerp 13 +2
Mechelen 4
Turnhout 3
Limburg Hasselt 3
Tongeren-Maaseik 3
East Flanders Aalst 5 +1
Oudenaarde 3
Gent-Eeklo 11 +1
Dendermonde 3
Sint-Niklaas 4
West Flanders Bruges 4 +1
Roeselare-Tielt 4
Kortrijk 5 +1
Ypres 3
Veurne-Diksmuide-Ostend 4
Brabant Leuven 6
Brussels 21 +3
Nivelles 4
Hainaut Tournai-Ath 6
Charleroi 9 +1
Thuin 3
Mons 6
Soignies 3 +1
Liège Huy-Waremme 4
Liège 12 +1
Verviers 5 +1
Luxembourg Arlon-Marche-Bastogne 3
Neufchâteau-Virton 2
Namur Namur 5
Dinant-Philippeville 4
Total 166 +14

References

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  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, p308
  3. ^ Nohlen & Stöver, p295
  4. ^ List of members of the Chamber of Representatives (1920-1921)