1949 Belgian general election

General elections were held in Belgium on 26 June 1949. Several reforms took effect prior to the elections; they were the first after the introduction of universal women's suffrage; the number of seats in the Chamber of Representatives was increased from 202 to 212, and from now on, elections for the nine provincial councils were held simultaneously with parliamentary elections. The number of Chamber seats and the simultaneous provincial and parliamentary elections would remain unchanged until state reforms in 1993.

1949 Belgian general election

26 June 1949 (1949-06-26)
All 212 seats in the Chamber of Representatives 106 seats in the Senate 107 (Chamber) seats needed for a majority
First party Second party   Leader Gaston Eyskens Paul-Henri Spaak Party Christian Social Socialist Leader since Candidate for PM Candidate for PM Last election 92 seats, 42.54% 69 seats, 31.57% Seats won 105 66 Seat change 13 3 Popular vote 2,190,895 1,496,539 Percentage 43.55% 29.76% Swing 1.01% 1.81%   Third party Fourth party   Leader Roger Motz Julien Lahaut Party Liberal Communist Leader since 1945 1945 Last election 17 seats, 8.93% 23 seats, 12.69% Seats won 29 12 Seat change 12 11 Popular vote 767,180 376,765 Percentage 15.25% 7.49% Swing 6.32% 5.20%
Chamber seat distribution by constituency
Government before election Spaak IV BSP/PSB-CVP/PSC Government after election G. Eyskens I CVP/PSC-Lib

The result was a victory for the Christian Social Party, which won 105 of the 212 seats in the Chamber of Representatives and 54 of the 106 seats in the Senate. Voter turnout was 94.4%.

Results

Chamber of Deputies

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Christian Social Party	2,190,895	43.55	105	+13
	Belgian Socialist Party	1,496,539	29.75	66	-3
	Liberal Party	767,180	15.25	29	+12
	Communist Party of Belgium	376,765	7.49	12	–11
	Flemish Concentration	103,896	2.07	0	New
	Middle Class	45,721	0.91	0	0
	Independent Party	20,450	0.41	0	New
	Traders Union	6,709	0.13	0	New
	Belgian National Rally	6,077	0.12	0	New
	Walloon Unity	5,852	0.12	0	New
	Luxembourg Defence	2,024	0.04	0	New
	Cosmocraten	685	0.01	0	New
	Light	680	0.01	0	New
	Independent General Syndicate	610	0.01	0	New
	Belgian Patriotic Party	55	0.00	0	New
	Independents	6,745	0.13	0	0
Total		5,030,883	100.00	212	+10
Valid votes		5,030,883	94.56
Invalid/blank votes		289,333	5.44
Total votes		5,320,216	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		5,635,452	94.41
Source: Belgian Elections

Senate

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Christian Social Party	2,208,553	44.96	54	+3
	Belgian Socialist Party	1,410,135	28.71	33	–1
	Liberal Party	762,530	15.52	14	+10
	Communist Party of Belgium	377,209	7.68	5	–6
	Flemish Concentration	66,055	1.34	0	New
	Middle Class	37,302	0.76	0	New
	Independent Party	20,357	0.41	0	New
	A	13,379	0.27	0	New
	Traders Union	5,507	0.11	0	New
	Walloon Unity	5,010	0.10	0	New
	B	554	0.01	0	New
	Independents	5,241	0.11	0	0
Total		4,911,832	100.00	106	+5
Valid votes		4,911,832	93.87
Invalid/blank votes		321,017	6.13
Total votes		5,232,849	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		5,635,452	92.86
Source: Belgian Elections

Constituencies

The distribution of seats among the electoral districts of the Chamber of Representatives was as follows. Several arrondissements got one or more additional seats.

Province	Arrondissement(s)	Seats	Change
Antwerp	Antwerp	20	+2
	Mechelen	6	–
	Turnhout	6	+1
Limburg	Hasselt	5	+1
	Tongeren-Maaseik	6	+1
East Flanders	Aalst	6	–
	Oudenaarde	3	–
	Gent-Eeklo	13	+1
	Dendermonde	4	–
	Sint-Niklaas	4	–
West Flanders	Bruges	5	+1
	Roeselare-Tielt	5	+1
	Kortrijk	6	–
	Ypres	3	–
	Veurne-Diksmuide-Ostend	5	–
Brabant	Leuven	7	–
	Brussels	32	+2
	Nivelles	5	–
Hainaut	Tournai-Ath	6	–
	Charleroi	11	–
	Thuin	4	–
	Mons	7	–
	Soignies	3	–
Liège	Huy-Waremme	4	–
	Liège	14	–
	Verviers	5	–
Luxembourg	Arlon-Marche-Bastogne	3	–
	Neufchâteau-Virton	3	–
Namur	Namur	5	–
	Dinant-Philippeville	4	–
Total		212	+10