1919 Luxembourg general election explained

Country:Luxembourg
Previous Election:1918
Next Election:1922
Election Date:26 October 1919
Election Name:1919 Luxembourg general election
Seats For Election:48 seats in the Chamber of Deputies
Majority Seats:24
Ongoing:no
Party1:Party of the Right
Leader1:Émile Reuter
Percentage1:49.72
Seats1:27
Last Election1:23
Party2:Socialist Party
Percentage2:17.57
Seats2:8
Last Election2:12
Party3:Radical Party
Percentage3:15.96
Seats3:7
Last Election3:10
Party4:IPP
Percentage4:6.83
Seats4:2
Last Election4:5
Party5:PNI
Leader5:Pierre Prüm
Percentage5:6.24
Seats5:3
Last Election5:2
Party6:Cartel
Colour6:
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Leader6:Othon Decker
Percentage6:1.67
Seats6:1
Last Election6:new
Prime Minister
Before Election:Émile Reuter
Before Party:Party of the Right
After Election:Émile Reuter
After Party:Party of the Right

General elections were held in Luxembourg on 26 October 1919.[1] They were the first held after several constitutional amendments were passed on 15 May of the same year.[2] The reforms had introduced universal suffrage and proportional representation, increased the electorate from 6% of the population to 42%,[3] and vested national sovereignty in the people, as opposed to the Grand Duke. They were also the first elections held after the German occupation during World War I.

The election saw the beginning of conservative dominance of Luxembourgish politics, ending seventy years of liberal dominance that had begun to crumble after the death of Paul Eyschen. With the constitutional reforms and the birth of the modern political order, the elections are considered the first in the modern political history of Luxembourg.

Results

The election was an overwhelming victory for the Party of the Right, led by Émile Reuter, the sitting Prime Minister. The 1919 general election was the only occasion in Luxembourgian history on which a party has held more than 50% of the seats (although it was repeated in the partial election of 1922).[4] Reuter would maintain a coalition with the Liberal League (which ran under the name "Radical Party") for another two years, before forming the first single-party cabinet on 15 April 1921.[5]

By constituency

ConstituencySeatsTurnoutPartyVotesSeats
won
Centre13bgcolor=Party of the Right180,5456
Radical Party121,5984
bgcolor=Socialist Party83,1513
Independent People's Party13,4900
Est719,054bgcolor=Party of the Right90,2526
Cartel22,0571
Independent People's Party7,7900
Nord1229,990bgcolor=Party of the Right211,1598
bgcolor=Independent National Party82,2973
bgcolor=Socialist Party29,5461
Independent People's Party3,9490
Sud16Party of the Right173,7397
bgcolor=Socialist Party118,9754
Radical Party88,8523
Independent People's Party64,8472
bgcolor=Emile Mark List14,0550
bgcolor=Independent Workers' Party11,3540
bgcolor=J Kayser List1,0840
Source: Luxemburger Wort, Luxemburger Wort

Notes and References

  1. [Dieter Nohlen]
  2. Book: Thewes, Guy . Les gouvernements du Grand-Duché de Luxembourg depuis 1848 . 2006-08-23 . Édition limitée . July 2003 . Service Information et Presse . Luxembourg City . 2-87999-118-8 . 76.
  3. Web site: Luxembourg . 6 December 2008 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20060507021518/http://www.fsd.uta.fi/aineistot/taustatietoa/FSD1289/Luxembourg.pdf . 2006-05-07 . dead .
  4. Thewes (2003), p. 78
  5. Thewes (2003), p. 77