Belgian general election, 1894

Belgian general election, 1894

14 October 1894

All 152 seats in the Chamber of Representatives 77 seats needed for a majority   First party Second party Third party   Party Catholic Labour Liberal Last election 92 seats 0 seats 60 seats Seats won 104 28 20 Seat change 12 28 40 Popular vote 926,987 301,940 515,808 Percentage 56.4% 18.4% 31.4%

General elections were held in Belgium on 14 October 1894,^[1] the first held under universal male suffrage for those over the age of 25.^[2] This followed the abolition of tax qualifications, and increased the number of voters tenfold.^[2] Voting was also made compulsory. The result was a victory for the Catholic Party, which won 104 of the 152 seats in the Chamber of Representatives.^[3] The Belgian Labour Party gained parliamentary representation for the first time, whilst the Liberal Party lost two-thirds of its seats.^[4]

Results

Chamber of Representatives

Party	Votes	%	Seats	+/–
Catholic Party	926,987	50.0	104	+12
Liberal Party	515,808	27.8	20	–40
Belgian Labour Party	301,940	16.3	28	+28
Liberal-Socialist Cartels	32,914	1.8	0	–
Christene Volkspartij	26,224	1.4	0	0
Other parties	48,354	2.6	0	–
Invalid/blank votes	89,364	–	–	–
Total	1,941,591	100	152	0
Source: Nohlen & Stöver

Senate

Party	Votes	%	Seats
Catholic Party	597,184	52.5
Liberal Party	495,288	43.5
Liberal-Socialist Cartels	28,812	2.5
Belgian Labour Party	16,535	1.5
Invalid/blank votes		–	–
Total	1,137,819	100
Source: Nohlen & Stöver

Constituencies

The distribution of seats among the electoral districts was as follows for the Chamber of Representatives.^[5] There were no changes compared to the previous election.

Province	Arrondissement	Seats
Antwerp	Antwerp	11
	Mechelen	4
	Turnhout	3
Limburg	Hasselt	3
	Maaseik	1
	Tongeren	2
East Flanders	Aalst	4
	Oudenaarde	3
	Gent	9
	Eeklo	1
	Dendermonde	3
	Sint-Niklaas	4
West Flanders	Bruges	3
	Roeselare	2
	Tielt	2
	Kortrijk	4
	Ypres	3
	Veurne	1
	Diksmuide	1
	Ostend	2
Brabant	Leuven	6
	Brussels	18
	Nivelles	4
Hainaut	Tournai	4
	Ath	2
	Charleroi	8
	Thuin	3
	Mons	6
	Soignies	3
Liège	Huy	2
	Waremme	2
	Liège	11
	Verviers	4
Luxembourg	Arlon	1
	Marche	1
	Bastogne	1
	Neufchâteau	1
	Virton	1
Namur	Namur	4
	Dinant	2
	Philippeville	2
		152

References

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, p272
3. Nohlen & Stöver, p307
4. Nohlen & Stöver, p273
5. List of members of the Chamber of Representatives (1894-1895)