1876 Belgian general election

Partial general elections were held in Belgium on 13 June 1876.^[1][2] In the elections for the Chamber of Representatives the result was a victory for the Catholic Party, which won 67 of the 124 seats.^[2] Voter turnout was 67.5%, although only 63,278 people were eligible to vote.

1876 Belgian general election

← 1874 13 June 1876 (1876-06-13) 1878 →
63 of the 124 seats in the Chamber of Representatives 63 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party   Leader Jules Malou Walthère Frère-Orban Party Catholic Liberal Leader since Candidate for PM Candidate for PM Seats before 68 seats 56 seats Seats won 42 21 Seats after 67 57 Seat change 1 1 Popular vote 22,952 19,788 Percentage 53.70% 46.30%
Government before election Malou I Catholic Government after election Malou I Catholic

Under the alternating system, elections were only held in five out of the nine provinces: Antwerp, Brabant, Luxembourg, Namur and West Flanders.

Additionally, special elections were held:

• Simultaneously with the partial general elections to elect a representative for the arrondissement of Liège
• On 7 August 1876 to elect a representative for the arrondissement of Leuven following the death of Edouard Wouters on 13 July 1876
• On 7 September 1876 to elect a representative for the arrondissement of Virton replacing Albert de Briey

Results

Chamber of Representatives

Party		Votes	%	Seats
				Won	Total	+/–
	Catholic Party	22,952	53.70	42	67	–1
	Liberal Party	19,788	46.30	21	57	+1
Total		42,740	100.00	63	124	0
Total votes		42,740	–
Registered voters/turnout		63,278	67.54
Source: Mackie & Rose,[3] Sternberger et al.

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