June 1870 Belgian general election

Partial general elections were held in Belgium on 11 June 1870.[1][2] In the elections for the Chamber of Representatives the Liberal Party and the Catholic Party both won 61 seats, resulting in a hung parliament.[2] Voter turnout was 60%, although only 51,435 people were eligible to vote. Consequently, early elections were held two months later.

Belgian general election,
June 1870

11 June 1870
61 of the 122 seats in the Chamber of Representatives 62 seats needed for a majority
Leader Walthère Frère-Orban Jules d'Anethan Party Liberal Catholic Leader since Candidate for PM Candidate for PM Seats before 72 seats 50 seats Seats won 31 30 Seats after 61 61 Seat change 11 11 Popular vote 17,173 13,698 Percentage 55.63% 44.37%
Government before election Frère-Orban I Liberal Elected Government d'Anethan Catholic

Under the alternating system, elections for the Chamber of Representatives were only held in four out of the nine provinces: Hainaut, Limburg, Liège and East Flanders.

Results

Chamber of Representatives

Party	Votes	%	Seats
			Won	Total	+/–
Liberal Party	17,173	55.6	31	61	–11
Catholic Party	13,698	44.4	30	61	+11
Invalid/blank votes	2,502	–	–	–	–
Total	33,373	100	61	122	0
Registered voters/turnout	51,435	60.0	–	–	–
Source: Mackie & Rose,[3] Sternberger et al

See also

• Belgium and the Franco-Prussian War

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