General elections were held in Luxembourg on 28 September 1848.

Dieter Nohlen Dieter Nohlen (born 6 November 1939) is a German academic and political scientist. He currently holds the position of Emeritus Professor of Political Science in the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences of the University of Heidelberg. An expe ...

& Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1230 They were the first direct elections to the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...

. Doctrinaire Liberals, who had been in power since 1841, lost the election to progressive Liberals and Catholics who were supportive of the new constitution.

Electoral system

The elections were the first held after a new electoral law was passed on 23 July 1848, which established direct and secret elections. It also reduced the tax qualification from 10 florins to 10 francs. Although this doubled the number of voters from around 5,000 to 9,868, 95% of the population remained disenfranchised. They were also the first elections held under the 1848 constitution, which was based on the Belgian constitution and introduced a parliamentary system with a constitutional monarchy, limiting the powers of the Grand Duke.Nohlen & Stöver, p1229

Aftermath

Although the progressive Liberals and Catholics held a majority of seats, the accession of

William III William III or William the Third may refer to: Kings * William III of Sicily (c. 1186–c. 1198) * William III of England and Ireland or William III of Orange or William II of Scotland (1650–1702) * William III of the Netherlands and Luxembourg ...

to the throne in 1849 reduced their power. William opposed the 1848 constitution, supported the doctrinaire Liberals and demanded that the full power of the monarchy be restored.

References

{{Luxembourgian elections 1848 elections in Europe 1848 in Luxembourg

1848 1848 is historically famous for the wave of revolutions, a series of widespread struggles for more liberal governments, which broke out from Brazil to Hungary; although most failed in their immediate aims, they significantly altered the polit ...

September 1848 events