Belgian general election, 1949

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Belgian general election, 1949

← 1946 26 June 1949 (1949-06-26) 1950 →

All 212 seats in the Chamber of Representatives
106 seats in the Senate
107 (Chamber) seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party
  Gaston Eyskens cropped.jpg Bundesarchiv Bild 183-39998-0427, Paul-Henri Spaak.jpg
Leader Gaston Eyskens Paul-Henri Spaak
Party [[Christian Social Party (Belgium, defunct)|Template:Christian Social Party (Belgium, defunct)/meta/shortname]] Socialist
Leader since Candidate for PM Candidate for PM
Last election 92 seats, 42.54% 69 seats, 31.57%
Seats won 105 66
Seat change Increase13 Decrease3
Popular vote 2,190,895 1,496,539
Percentage 43.55% 29.76%
Swing Increase1.01% Decrease1.81%

  Third party Fourth party
 
Leader Roger Motz Julien Lahaut
Party Liberal Communist
Leader since 1945 1945
Last election 17 seats, 8.93% 23 seats, 12.69%
Seats won 29 12
Seat change Increase12 Decrease11
Popular vote 767,180 376,765
Percentage 15.25% 7.49%
Swing Increase6.32% Decrease5.20%

Prime Minister before election

Paul-Henri Spaak
Socialist

Prime Minister

Gaston Eyskens
[[Christian Social Party (Belgium, defunct)|Template:Christian Social Party (Belgium, defunct)/meta/shortname]]

General elections were held in Belgium on 26 June 1949.[1] Several reforms took effect prior to the elections; they were the first after the introduction of universal women's suffrage; the number of seats in the Chamber of Representatives was increased from 202 to 212, and from now on, elections for the nine provincial councils were held simultaneously with parliamentary elections. The number of Chamber seats and the simultaneous provincial and parliamentary elections would remain unchanged until state reforms in 1993.

The result was a victory for the Christian Social Party, which won 105 of the 212 seats in the Chamber of Representatives and 54 of the 106 seats in the Senate.[2] Voter turnout was 94.4%.[3]

Results

Chamber of Deputies

Party Votes % Seats +/–
Christian Social Party 2,190,895 43.55 105 +13
Belgian Socialist Party 1,496,539 29.76 66 -3
Liberal Party 767,180 15.25 29 +12
Communist Party of Belgium 376,765 7.49 12 –11
Flemish Concentration 103,896 2.07 0 New
Middle Class 45,721 0.91 0 New
Independent Party 20,450 0.41 0 New
Traders Union 6,709 0.13 0 New
National Belgian Rally 6,077 0.12 0 New
Walloon Unity 5,852 0.12 0 New
Luxembourg Defence 2,024 0.04 0 New
Cosmocraten 685 0.01 0 New
Light 680 0.01 0 New
Independent General Syndicate 610 0.01 0 New
Belgian Patriotic Party 55 0.00 0 New
Independents 6,745 0.13 0 0
Invalid/blank votes 289,333
Total 5,320,216 100 212 +10
Registered voters/turnout 5,635,452 94.41
Source: Belgian Elections

Senate

Party Votes % Seats +/–
Christian Social Party 2,208,553 46.95 54 +3
Belgian Socialist Party 1,410,135 29.98 33 –1
Liberal Party 762,530 16.21 14 +10
Communist Party of Belgium 377,209 8.02 5 –6
Flemish Concentration 66,055 1.40 0 New
Middle Class 37,302 0.79 0 New
Independent Party 20,357 0.43 0 New
A 13,379 0.28 0 New
Traders Union 5,507 0.12 0 New
Walloon Unity 5,010 0.11 0 New
B 555 0.01 0 New
Independents 5,241 0.12 0 0
Invalid/blank votes 321,017
Total 5,024,677 100 106 +5
Registered voters/turnout 5,635,452 89.16
Source: Belgian Elections

Constituencies

The distribution of seats among the electoral districts of the Chamber of Representatives was as follows.[4] Several arrondissements got one or more additional seats.

Province Arrondissement(s) Seats Change
Antwerp Antwerp 20 +2
Mechelen 6
Turnhout 6 +1
Limburg Hasselt 5 +1
Tongeren-Maaseik 6 +1
East Flanders Aalst 6
Oudenaarde 3
Gent-Eeklo 13 +1
Dendermonde 4
Sint-Niklaas 4
West Flanders Bruges 5 +1
Roeselare-Tielt 5 +1
Kortrijk 6
Ypres 3
Veurne-Diksmuide-Ostend 5
Brabant Leuven 7
Brussels 32 +2
Nivelles 5
Hainaut Tournai-Ath 6
Charleroi 11
Thuin 4
Mons 7
Soignies 3
Liège Huy-Waremme 4
Liège 14
Verviers 5
Luxembourg Arlon-Marche-Bastogne 3
Neufchâteau-Virton 3
Namur Namur 5
Dinant-Philippeville 4
Total 212 +10

References

  1. Nohlen, D & Stöver, P (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p289 ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7
  2. Nohlen & Stöver, pp309-311
  3. Nohlen & Stöver, p290
  4. List of members of the Chamber of Representatives (1949-1950)