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.
Results
=Chamber of Representatives=
{{Election results
|image=File:Belgian Chamber 1847.svg
|seattype1=Won|seattype2=Total
|party1=Liberal Association|votes1=9142|st1t1=33|st2t1=55
|party2=Catholics|votes2=8298|st1t2=21|st2t2=53|color2=yellow
|party3=Others|votes3=101|st1t3=0|st2t3=0
|invalid=
|totalvotes=17541
|electorate=22572
|source=Mackie & Rose
}}
=Senate=
{{Election results
|image=250px
|party1=Catholics|seats1=32|sc1=0|color1=yellow
|party2=Liberal Association|seats2=20|sc2=+7
|party3=Independents|seats3=2|sc3=–1
|total_sc=+7
|source=Sternberger et al.
}}