| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
88 of the 186 seats in the Chamber of Representatives | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Partial 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]
The Catholics had formed the government continuously since 1884; the incumbent de Broqueville government was in office since 1911.
Under the alternating system, elections were only held in four out of the nine provinces: Hainaut, Limburg, Liège and East Flanders. This was the last time this system was applied, as the next elections in 1919 saw the introduction of full four-year terms.
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.
Party | Votes | % | Seats | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Won | ||||||||
Catholic Party | 570,806 | 42.77 | 41 | |||||
Belgian Labour Party | 404,701 | 30.32 | 26 | |||||
Liberal Party | 326,922 | 24.50 | 20 | |||||
Christene Volkspartij | 22,219 | 1.66 | 1 | |||||
Socialist dissidents | 2,052 | 0.15 | 0 | |||||
Catholic dissidents | 1,786 | 0.13 | 0 | |||||
Independents | 6,095 | 0.46 | 0 | |||||
Total | 1,334,581 | 100.00 | 88 | |||||
Source: Belgian Elections |
Seats in the provinces of Antwerp, Brabant, Luxembourg, Namur and West Flanders were not up for election.
Province | Arrondissement(s) | Chamber |
---|---|---|
Limburg | Hasselt | 3 |
Tongeren- Maaseik | 4 | |
East Flanders | Aalst | 5 |
Oudenaarde | 3 | |
Gent- Eeklo | 12 | |
Dendermonde | 4 | |
Sint-Niklaas | 4 | |
Hainaut | Tournai- Ath | 6 |
Charleroi | 11 | |
Thuin | 3 | |
Mons | 7 | |
Soignies | 4 | |
Liège | Huy- Waremme | 4 |
Liège | 13 | |
Verviers | 5 | |
Total | 88 |
Apart from the re-elected members, the following six members were newly elected: