Luxembourg general election, 1919

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 Luxembourgian 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]

Party	Votes	%^[a]	Seats	+/–
Party of the Right	655,695	52.8	27	+4
Socialist Party	231,672	15.6	8	–4
Radical Party	210,450	14.2	7	–3
Independent People's Party	90,076	6.2	2	–3
Independent National Party	82,297	6.6	3	+1
Cartel	22,057	3.0	1	–
Emile Mark List	14,055	0.8	0	–
Independent Workers' Party	11,354	0.7	0	–
J Kayser List	1,084	0.1	0	–
Invalid/blank votes		–	–	–
Total			48	–5
Registered voters/turnout	126,194		–	–
Source: Nohlen & Stöver

^a The percentage of votes is not related to the number of votes in the table, as voters could cast more votes in some constituencies than others, and is instead calculated based on the proportion of votes received in each constituency.^[6]

Popular Vote
Right			52.8%
Socialist			15.6%
Liberal			14.2%
Ind National			6.6%
Ind People's			6.2%
Cartel			3.0%

References

1. Nohlen, D & Stöver, P (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p1234 ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7
2. Thewes, Guy (July 2003). Les gouvernements du Grand-Duché de Luxembourg depuis 1848 (PDF) (Édition limitée ed.). Luxembourg City: Service Information et Presse. p. 76. ISBN 2-87999-118-8. Retrieved 2006-08-23.
3. "Luxembourg" (PDF). University of Tampere. Retrieved 6 December 2008.
4. Thewes (2003), p. 78
5. Thewes (2003), p. 77
6. Nohlen & Stöver, p1254