1921 Belgian general election

General elections were held in Belgium on 20 November 1921.[1] The result was a victory for the Catholic Party, which won 70 of the 186 seats in the Chamber of Representatives.[2] Voter turnout was 91.1% in the Chamber election and 91.0% in the Senate election.[3]

1921 Belgian general election
Belgium
← 1919 20 November 1921 1925 →

186 seats in the Chamber of Representatives
93 seats in the Senate
Party Leader Vote % Seats +/–
Chamber of Representatives
Catholic Georges Theunis 37.01 78 +8
Labour Joseph Van Roosbroeck 34.81 68 −2
Liberal Albert Mechelynck 17.80 33 −1
Catholic dissidents 3.35 2 −1
Frontpartij 3.04 4 −1
Combatants 1.07 1 −1
Senate
Labour Joseph Van Roosbroeck 35.48 33 +13
Catholic Georges Theunis 32.57 34 −9
Liberal Albert Mechelynck 19.44 18 −12
United Catholics 4.99 5 New
CVP 2.79 2 New
Frontpartij 1.60 0 New
Christian Workers 0.89 1 New
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.
Government before Government after election
Carton de Wiart
National Unity (Catholic-Lab-Lib)
Theunis I
Catholic-Liberal

Elections to the nine provincial councils were held one week later, on 27 November 1921.

A Catholic–Liberal government led by Georges Theunis was formed following the elections.

Results

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Chamber of Representatives

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PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Catholic Party715,04137.0178+8
Belgian Labour Party672,44534.8168–2
Liberal Party343,92917.8033–1
Catholic dissidents64,7463.352–1
Frontpartij58,7903.044–1
Combatants20,6331.071–1
Christian Workers' Alliance17,7630.920New
Middle Class Party9,7540.500–1
Communist Party of Belgium9390.050New
Other parties27,8021.440
Total1,931,842100.001860
Valid votes1,931,84295.20
Invalid/blank votes97,3264.80
Total votes2,029,168100.00
Registered voters/turnout2,226,79791.12
Source: Mackie & Rose

Senate

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A constitutional change eased the requirements to be a candidate for the Senate. As a compensation, the number of senators elected by provincial councils was increased from 27 to 40 and a new type of senators was introduced: 20 co-opted senators. This gives a total of 153 senators.

 
PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Belgian Labour Party661,16835.4833+13
Catholic Party606,79932.5734–9
Liberal Party362,18719.4418–12
United Catholics Party93,0614.995New
Christene Volkspartij51,9282.792New
Frontpartij29,7261.600New
Christian Workers' Alliance16,5880.891New
Combatants14,2460.760New
Democrats6,9070.370New
Nationalist Cartel5,1960.280New
Middle Class Party4,4010.2400
Liberals3,5890.190New
Liberal People's Union3,5060.190New
National Party2,4270.130New
Radical Party1,6030.090New
Total1,863,332100.00930
Source: Belgian Elections

Constituencies

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The distribution of seats among the electoral districts was as follows:[4][5]

Province Arrondissement(s) Chamber Senate
Antwerp Antwerp 15 7
Mechelen 5 5
Turnhout 4
Elected by the provincial council 5
Limburg Hasselt 3 4
Tongeren-Maaseik 4
Elected by the provincial council 3
East Flanders Aalst 5 4
Oudenaarde 3
Gent-Eeklo 12 6
Dendermonde 4 4
Sint-Niklaas 4
Elected by the provincial council 5
West Flanders Bruges 4 2
Roeselare-Tielt 5 3
Kortrijk 5 4
Ypres 3
Veurne-Diksmuide-Ostend 5 2
Elected by the provincial council 4
Brabant Leuven 7 3
Brussels 26 13
Nivelles 4 2
Elected by the provincial council 7
Hainaut Tournai-Ath 6 3
Charleroi 11 7
Thuin 3
Mons 7 5
Soignies 4
Elected by the provincial council 6
Liège Huy-Waremme 4 2
Liège 13 7
Verviers 5 2
Elected by the provincial council 4
Luxembourg Arlon-Marche-Bastogne 3 3
Neufchâteau-Virton 3
Elected by the provincial council 3
Namur Namur 5 5
Dinant-Philippeville 4
Elected by the provincial council 3
Total 186 93 + 40

Additionally, 20 senators were co-opted.

References

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  1. ^ Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p289 ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7
  2. ^ Nohlen & Stöver, p308
  3. ^ Nohlen & Stöver, p290
  4. ^ List of members of the Chamber of Representatives (1921-1922)
  5. ^ List of members of the Senate (1921-1922)