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54 of the 108 seats in the Chamber of Representatives 55 seats needed for a majority | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Belgium portal |
Partial general elections were held in Belgium on 8 June 1847.[1] The result was a victory for the new Liberal Association, which had been formed the previous year.[2] It won 33 seats to the Catholics' 21, as the latter were split into dogmatic and liberal groups.[2] Only 1% of the country's population was eligible to vote.[3]
Under the alternating system, Chamber elections were only held in four out of the nine provinces: East Flanders, Hainaut, Liège and Limburg. Thus, 54 of the 108 Chamber seats were up for election. The total number of Chamber seats increased from 98 to 108 following a reapportionment due to population increases.
While the liberals gained a majority in the Chamber, the Catholics retained theirs in the Senate. Following the election, the Catholic government led by Barthélémy de Theux de Meylandt resigned. After a political crisis of two months, a liberal government was formed on 12 August 1847, headed by Charles Rogier. The liberals would go on to win the 1848 elections.