1912 Belgian general election

none Belgium parliamentary 1910 Belgian general election 1910 1914 Belgian general election 1914 All 186 seats in the Chamber of Representatives93 of 120 seats in the Senate 2 June 1912 130x130px DeBroqueville.jpg Charles de Broqueville Catholic Party (Belgium) 101 1,337,315 51.01% 3x4.svg N/A Liberal–Socialist 45 710,459 27.10% 800080 3x4.svg Liberal Party (Belgium) 21 291,084 11.10% 3x4.svg Laurent Vandersmissen Belgian Labour Party 18 243,338 9.28% Christene Volkspartij 1 19,317 0.74% Government Government after election De Broqueville I Catholic Party (Belgium) De Broqueville I Catholic Party (Belgium) Full general elections were held in Belgium on 2 June 1912. Elections in Europe: A data handbook Nohlen Dieter Dieter Nohlen Stöver Philip 31 May 2010 Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft 289 978-3-8329-5609-7 Background thumb|Charles de Broqueville Catholics had formed the government continuously since 1884. Minister Schollaert had drafted a controversial education law, because of which he was forced to resign in June 1911. He was succeeded by a government led by Charles de Broqueville. The education law was intended to financially equalise public and private education, which was opposed by liberals and socialists as it benefited private (Catholic) schools. Both opposition parties, united against Catholics, were expected to win the elections. King Albert I was preparing to switch to a progressive government headed by liberal Paul Hymans. However, the elections unexpectedly increased the majority of the Catholic Party, which won 101 of the 186 seats in the Chamber of Representatives and 54 of the 93 seats in the Senate.Nohlen & Stöver, pp308-310 Consequently, the incumbent Catholic government headed by Charles de Broqueville continued after the elections. Electoral system These elections were the first full general elections since 27 May 1900, when a proportional system using the D'Hondt method was introduced. Since 1893, there was universal suffrage with plural voting. Hence, there were more votes than the 1,745,666 who could vote in these Chamber elections (out of a population of 7,571,387 in the country). Following the population census, the number of seats in the Chamber of Representatives increased from 166 to 186. The number of directly elected seats in the Senate (half the number of Chamber seats) consequently increased from 83 to 93; the number of provincial senators remained at 27. Results Chamber of Representatives File:Belgian Chamber 1912.svg Catholic Party 1337315 101 Liberal–Socialist kartels 710459 45 purple Liberal Party 291084 21 Belgian Labour Party 243338 18 Christene Volkspartij 19317 1 Independents 20258 0 62327 2814089 Belgian Electionshttp://www.ibzdgip.fgov.be/result/nl/result_ko.php?date=1912-06-12&vt=CK&ko_type=KO_RK&ko=263 Verkiezingsdatabase www.ibzdgip.fgov.be Senate File:Belgium Senate 1912.svg Catholic Party 1224767 54 Liberal–Socialist kartels 480457 16 Liberal Party 408043 14 Belgian Labour Party 223197 9 Christene Volkspartij 8937 0 75136 2525810 Belgian Electionshttp://www.ibzdgip.fgov.be/result/nl/result_ko.php?date=1912-06-12&vt=SE&ko_type=KO_RK&ko=263 Verkiezingsdatabase www.ibzdgip.fgov.be Constituencies The distribution of seats among the electoral districts was as follows.List of members of the Chamber of Representatives (1912) Several arrondissements got one or more additional seats, following the population census. With Neufchâteau-Virton receiving an extra seat, every electoral district now had at minimum, three seats in the Chamber. Province Arrondissement(s) Chamber Change Senate Change Antwerp Antwerp 15 +2 7 +1 Mechelen 5 +1 5 +1 Turnhout 4 +1 Elected by the provincial council 3 – Limburg Hasselt 3 – 4 +1 Tongeren-Maaseik 4 +1 Elected by the provincial council 2 – East Flanders Aalst 5 – 4 – Oudenaarde 3 – Gent-Eeklo 12 +1 6 +1 Dendermonde 4 +1 4 – Sint-Niklaas 4 – Elected by the provincial council 4 – West Flanders Bruges 4 – 2 – Roeselare-Tielt 5 +1 3 +1 Kortrijk 5 – 4 – Ypres 3 – Veurne-Diksmuide-Ostend 5 +1 2 – Elected by the provincial council 3 – Brabant Leuven 7 +1 3 – Brussels 26 +5 13 +2 Nivelles 4 – 2 – Elected by the provincial council 4 – Hainaut Tournai-Ath 6 – 3 – Charleroi 11 +2 7 +1 Thuin 3 – Mons 7 +1 5 – Soignies 4 – Elected by the provincial council 4 – Liège Huy-Waremme 4 – 2 – Liège 13 +1 7 +1 Verviers 5 – 2 – Elected by the provincial council 3 – Luxembourg Arlon-Marche-Bastogne 3 – 3 – Neufchâteau-Virton 3 +1 Elected by the provincial council 2 – Namur Namur 5 – 5 +1 Dinant-Philippeville 4 – Elected by the provincial council 2 – Total 186 +20 120 +10 References Belgium Category:1910s elections in Belgium General Belgium