1936 Belgian general election

General elections were held in Belgium on 24 May 1936. The result was a victory for the Belgian Labour Party, which won 70 of the 202 seats in the Chamber of Representatives and 39 of the 101 seats in the Senate. Voter turnout was 94.7%.

1936 Belgian general election

24 May 1936
All 202 seats in the Chamber of Representatives All 101 seats in the Senate
First party Second party Third party   Leader Emile Vandervelde Paul van Zeeland Léon Dens Party Labour Catholic Liberal Leader since 1933 Candidate for PM 1935 Last election 73 seats, 37.03% 79 seats, 38.42% 24 seats, 14.08% Seats won 70 61 23 Seat change 3 18 1 Popular vote 758,485 653,717 292,970 Percentage 32.11% 27.67% 12.40% Swing 4.92% 10.75% 1.68%   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Léon Degrelle Staf De Clercq Joseph Jacquemotte Party Rexist VNV Communist Leader since 1935 1933 1934 Last election New New 3 seats, 2.90% Seats won 21 16 9 Seat change New New 6 Popular vote 271,481 164,253 143,223 Percentage 11.49% 7.06% 6.06% Swing New New 3.16%
Government before election van Zeeland I National Unity (Catholic-Lab-Lib) Government after election van Zeeland II National Unity (Catholic-Lab-Lib)

Prime Minister Paul van Zeeland

Despite the rise of far-right and far-left parties, Paul van Zeeland continued as Prime Minister leading a government of national unity, composed of the three major parties (Catholics, Socialists and Liberals).

Results

Chamber of Representatives

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Belgian Labour Party	758,485	32.11	70	–3
	Catholic Party	653,717	27.67	61	–18
	Liberal Party	292,970	12.40	23	–1
	Rexist Party	271,481	11.49	21	New
	Vlaamsch Nationaal Verbond	166,737	7.06	16	+8
	Communist Party of Belgium	143,223	6.06	9	+6
	Christian Democratic Party	22,224	0.94	2	New
	Realists	14,989	0.63	0	New
	People's Candidates	7,997	0.34	0	New
	Socialist dissidents	7,050	0.30	0	0
	Agrarians	4,989	0.21	0	New
	Revolutionary Socialist Action	2,082	0.09	0	New
	Independent National Party	2,072	0.09	0	New
	Farmers	1,995	0.08	0	0
	VNV dissidents	1,618	0.07	0	0
	Clock	1,518	0.06	0	New
	Isolated	1,153	0.05	0	0
	Pigeon Fanciers	918	0.04	0	New
	Taxpayers Bloc	898	0.04	0	0
	Radical Party	709	0.03	0	0
	Cooperative Bloc	692	0.03	0	New
	Merchants	391	0.02	0	New
	Producers	225	0.01	0	New
	Quaedvlieg	67	0.00	0	New
	Independents	4,236	0.18	0	New
Total		2,362,436	100.00	202	+15
Valid votes		2,362,436	94.07
Invalid/blank votes		148,810	5.93
Total votes		2,511,246	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		2,652,707	94.67
Source: Belgian Elections

Senate

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Belgian Labour Party	769,498	33.46	39	0
	Catholic Party	667,739	29.04	34	–8
	Liberal Party	297,280	12.93	11	0
	Rexist Party	250,272	10.88	8	New
	Vlaamsch Nationaal Verbond	160,212	6.97	5	+4
	Communist Party of Belgium	110,855	4.82	4	+4
	Christian Democratic Party	19,477	0.85	0	New
	Other parties	4,520	0.20	0	–
	Independents	19,655	0.85	0	New
Total		2,299,508	100.00	101	+8
Valid votes		2,299,508	91.67
Invalid/blank votes		209,055	8.33
Total votes		2,508,563	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		2,652,707	94.57
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. Roeselare-Tielt lost one seat, which was a rare occurrence since population generally increased throughout the Belgian territory with each census.

Province	Arrondissement(s)	Seats	Change
Antwerp	Antwerp	18	+3
	Mechelen	6	+1
	Turnhout	5	+1
Limburg	Hasselt	4	+1
	Tongeren-Maaseik	5	+1
East Flanders	Aalst	6	+1
	Oudenaarde	3	–
	Gent-Eeklo	12	–
	Dendermonde	4	–
	Sint-Niklaas	4	–
West Flanders	Bruges	4	–
	Roeselare-Tielt	4	–1
	Kortrijk	6	+1
	Ypres	3	–
	Veurne-Diksmuide-Ostend	5	–
Brabant	Leuven	7	–
	Brussels	30	+4
	Nivelles	5	+1
Hainaut	Tournai-Ath	6	–
	Charleroi	11	–
	Thuin	4	+1
	Mons	7	–
	Soignies	3	–
Liège	Huy-Waremme	4	–
	Liège	14	+1
	Verviers	5	–
Luxembourg	Arlon-Marche-Bastogne	3	–
	Neufchâteau-Virton	3	–
Namur	Namur	5	–
	Dinant-Philippeville	4	–
Total		202	+15