1848 Belgian general election

none 1848 Belgian general election Belgium parliamentary 1847 Belgian general election 1847 1850 Belgian general election 1850 All 108 seats in the Chamber of Representatives 55 1848 06 13 yes 150x150px Charles Rogier Candidate for PM Liberal Party (Belgium) 55 seats 83 28 30,806 69.52% 100x100px Catholic 53 seats 25 28 13,122 29.61% FFFF00 Government Government after election Rogier I Liberal Party (Belgium) Rogier I Liberal Party (Belgium) Full general elections were held in Belgium on 13 June 1848.Codebook Constituency-level Elections Archive, 2003 They followed an equalisation of the tax qualifications for voters, which widened the franchise from 1.0% of the population to 1.8%. Elections in Europe: A data handbook Nohlen Dieter Dieter Nohlen Stöver Philip 31 May 2010 Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft 271–271 978-3-8329-5609-7 Unlike the previous rules which had favoured Conservatives and Catholics (as the requirements were lower in the countryside), this benefitted the Liberal Party and damaged the Catholics, who lost more than half their seats.Sternberger, D, Vogel, B & Nohlen, D (1969) Die Wahl der Parlamente: Band I: Europa - Erster Halbband, p105 Background The existing electoral law differentiated in tax requirements between cities and countryside; cities (where Liberals were stronger) had to pay higher taxes in order to vote, compared to the countryside (where Catholics were stronger). The Liberal Party held its founding congress two years earlier, on 13 June 1846, where it approved a proposal to lower the tax requirements in order to expand suffrage. By 1848, in the context of the Revolutions of 1848, reform was unavoidable. On the proposal of Liberal head of government Charles Rogier, the Parliament approved the law of 12 March 1848, which equalised and lowered the tax requirements to its constitutional minimum. The new law benefited the Liberals, leading them to victory in these elections. The Liberals would retain their dominant position for the most part until 1884. Campaign One Chamber seat was uncontested, and won by the Liberal Party. Results Chamber of Representatives File:Belgian Chamber 1848.svg Liberal Party 30806 83 +28 Catholics 13122 25 –28 yellow Others 383 0 0 0 44311 79076 Sternberger et al., Mackie & Rose The vote figures do not include the constituency of Oudenaarde.Thomas T Mackie & Richard Rose (1991) The International Almanac of Electoral History, Macmillan, p46 Senate 250px Liberal Party 31 +11 Catholics 22 –10 yellow Others 1 +1 0 Sternberger et al. References Belgium Category:1840s elections in Belgium General Belgium