1847 Belgian general election

{{Short description|none}}

{{Infobox election

| election_name = 1847 Belgian general election

| country = Belgium

| type = parliamentary

| previous_election = 1845 Belgian general election

| previous_year = 1845

| next_election = 1848 Belgian general election

| next_year = 1848

| seats_for_election = 54 of the 108 seats in the Chamber of Representatives

| majority_seats = 55

| election_date = {{Start date|1847|06|08|df=yes}}

| image1 = 150x150px

| leader1 = Charles Rogier

| leader_since1 = Candidate for PM

| party1 = Liberal Party (Belgium)

| seats_before1 =

| seats1 = 33

| seats_after1 = 55

| seat_change1 =

| popular_vote1 = 9,142

| percentage1 = 52.12%

| swing1 =

| image2 = 150x150px

| leader2 = Barthélémy de Theux de Meylandt

| leader_since2 = Candidate for PM

| party2 = Catholic

| seats_before2 =

| seats2 = 21

| seats_after2 = 53

| seat_change2 =

| popular_vote2 = 8,298

| percentage2 = 47.31%

| swing2 =

| color2 = FFFF00

| title = Government

| posttitle = Government after election

| before_election = de Theux de Meylandt II

| before_party = Catholic

| after_election = Rogier I

| after_party = Liberal Party (Belgium)

}}{{Politics of Belgium}}

Partial general elections were held in Belgium on 8 June 1847.Codebook Constituency-level Elections Archive, 2003 The result was a victory for the new Liberal Association, which had been formed the previous year.{{Cite book

|title= Elections in Europe: A data handbook

|last1= Nohlen

|first1= Dieter

|authorlink= Dieter Nohlen

|last2= Stöver

|first2= Philip

|date= 31 May 2010

|publisher= Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft

|page= 270

|isbn= 978-3-8329-5609-7

}} It won 33 seats to the Catholics' 21, as the latter were split into dogmatic and liberal groups. Only 1% of the country's population was eligible to vote.Sternberger, D, Vogel, B & Nohlen, D (1969) Die Wahl der Parlamente: Band I: Europa - Erster Halbband, p105

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.