Belgian general election, 1914

Belgian general election, 1914

24 May 1914

88 of the 186 seats in the Chamber of Representatives

General elections were held in Belgium on 24 May 1914.^[1] The result was a victory for the Catholic Party, which won 41 of the 88 seats up for election in the Chamber of Representatives.^[2]

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

The elections occurred shortly before the outbreak of World War I. The newly elected legislature met for just one day in a special session: on 4 August 1914, when King Albert I addressed the United Chambers of Parliament upon the German invasion of Belgium. The parliament met again after the war in November 1918.

Results

Party	Votes	%	Seats
Catholic Party	570,806	42.8	41
Belgian Labour Party	404,701	30.3	26
Liberal Party	326,922	24.5	20
Christene Volkspartij	22,619	1.7	1
Other parties	9,933	0.8	0
Invalid/blank votes		–	–
Total	1,334,581	100	88
Source: Nohlen & Stöver

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, p308