1866 Belgian general election

1866 Belgian general election

12 June 1866 (1866-06-12)
61 of the 122 seats in the Chamber of Representatives 62 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party   Leader Charles Rogier Party Liberal Catholic Leader since Candidate for PM Seats before 64 seats 52 seats Seats won 43 18 Seats after 70 52 Seat change 6 Popular vote 20,965 15,060 Percentage 58.20% 41.80%
Government before election Rogier II Liberal Government after election Rogier II Liberal

Partial general elections were held in Belgium on 12 June 1866.^[1][2] In the elections for the Chamber of Representatives the result was a victory for the Liberal Party, which won 70 of the 122 seats.^[2] Voter turnout was 70%, although only 51,465 people were eligible to vote.

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

Results

Chamber of Representatives

Party		Votes	%	Seats
				Won	Total	+/–
	Liberal Party	20,965	58.20	43	70	+6
	Catholics	15,060	41.80	18	52	0
Total		36,025	100.00	61	122	+6
Total votes		36,025	–
Registered voters/turnout		51,465	70.00
Source: Mackie & Rose,[3] Sternberger et al.

Constituencies

The distribution of seats among the electoral districts was as follows for the Chamber of Representatives, with the difference compared to the previous election due to population growth:^[4]

Province	Arrondissement	Seats	Change
Antwerp	Antwerp	6	+1
	Mechelen	3	–
	Turnhout	3	–
Limburg	Hasselt	2	–
	Maaseik	1	–
	Tongeren	2	–
East Flanders	Aalst	3	–
	Oudenaarde	3	–
	Gent	8	–
	Eeklo	1	–
	Dendermonde	3	–
	Sint-Niklaas	3	–
West Flanders	Bruges	3	–
	Roeselare	2	–
	Tielt	2	–
	Kortrijk	4	–
	Ypres	3	–
	Veurne	1	–
	Diksmuide	1	–
	Ostend	1	–
Brabant	Leuven	5	+1
	Brussels	13	+2
	Nivelles	4	–
Hainaut	Tournai	4	–
	Ath	2	–
	Charleroi	5	+1
	Thuin	3	+1
	Mons	5	–
	Soignies	3	–
Liège	Huy	2	–
	Waremme	1	–
	Liège	8	+1
	Verviers	3	–
Luxembourg	Arlon	1	–
	Marche	1	–
	Bastogne	1	–
	Neufchâteau	1	–
	Virton	1	–
Namur	Namur	4	–
	Dinant	2	–
	Philippeville	2	+1
		124	+8

References

1. Codebook Constituency-level Elections Archive, 2003
2. 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, pp48–49
4. List of members of the Chamber of Representatives (1866-1967)