1863 Belgian general election

Partial general elections were held in Belgium on 9 June 1863.[1][2] The result was a victory for the Liberal Party, which won 59 of the 116 seats in the Chamber of Representatives and 33 of the 58 seats in the Senate.[2] Voter turnout was 74.5%, although only 52,519 people were eligible to vote.

1863 Belgian general election

← 1861 9 June 1863 (1863-06-09) 1864 →

58 of the 116 seats in the Chamber of Representatives
57 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party
 
Leader Charles Rogier
Party Liberal Catholic
Leader since Candidate for PM
Seats before 66 seats 50 seats
Seats won 24 34
Seats after 59 57
Seat change Decrease 7 Increase 7
Popular vote 17,799 21,310
Percentage 45.51% 54.49%

Government before election

Rogier II
Liberal

Government after election

Rogier II
Liberal

Under the alternating system, elections for the Chamber of Representatives were only held in five out of the nine provinces: Antwerp, Brabant, Luxembourg, Namur and West Flanders. Additionally, special elections were held in the arrondissements of Tournai, Ghent and Hasselt.

Results

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Chamber of Representatives

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PartyVotes%Seats
WonTotal+/–
Catholics21,31054.493457+7
Liberal Party17,79945.512459–7
Total39,109100.00581160
Total votes39,109
Registered voters/turnout52,51974.47
Source: Mackie & Rose,[3] Sternberger et al.

Senate

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PartySeats
Liberal Party33
Catholics25
Total58
Source: Sternberger et al.

References

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  1. ^ Codebook Constituency-level Elections Archive, 2003
  2. ^ a b Sternberger, D, Vogel, B & Nohlen, D (1969) Die Wahl der Parlamente: Band I: Europa - Erster Halbband, p105
  3. ^ Thomas T. Mackie & Richard Rose (1991) The International Almanac of Electoral History, Macmillan, p46