General elections were held in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

on 3 July 1918.

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'', p1395 They were the first elections held after a series of reforms that introduced universal male suffrage and pure

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...

, replacing the previous system using

first-past-the-post voting In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast their ...

in single member constituencies. This change was known as the Great Pacification, which also included the introduction of state financing of religious schools, and led to the start of

consociational democracy Consociationalism ( ) is a form of democratic power sharing. Political scientists define a consociational state as one which has major internal divisions along ethnic, religious, or linguistic lines, but which remains stable due to consultation a ...

.Nohlen & Stöver, p1385 The change in the electoral system led to major changes in the political make-up of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

. The confessional right-wing parties, the

General League of Roman Catholic Caucuses A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED O ...

, the

Anti-Revolutionary Party The Anti-Revolutionary Party ( nl, Anti-Revolutionaire Partij, ARP) was a Protestant conservative and Christian democratic political party in the Netherlands. The party was founded in 1879 by Abraham Kuyper, a neo-Calvinist theologian and m ...

and the

Christian Historical Union The Christian Historical Union ( nl, Christelijk-Historische Unie, CHU) was a Protestant Christian democratic political party in the Netherlands. The CHU is one of the predecessors of the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), into which it merged in ...

, together won 50 seats. Along with two Christian splinter-parties (the

Christian Democratic Party __NOTOC__ Christian democratic parties are political parties that seek to apply Christian principles to public policy. The underlying Christian democracy movement emerged in 19th-century Europe, largely under the influence of Catholic social tea ...

and the Christian Social Party) they were able to gain a majority of 52 seats. The liberal parties lost the most seats. While in 1917, two of the liberal parties, the Liberal Union and the

League of Free Liberals The League of Free Liberals ( nl, Bond van Vrije Liberalen) was a Dutch classical liberal political party and a predecessor of the Liberal State Party which is historically linked to the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy, the major Dutch ...

, had won 31 seats, they were now reduced to 10 seats. Together with three smaller liberal parties, liberals now held only 15 seats in the House of representatives. The fragmentation of the House was caused by the low

electoral threshold The electoral threshold, or election threshold, is the minimum share of the primary vote that a candidate or political party requires to achieve before they become entitled to representation or additional seats in a legislature. This limit can ...

of just 0.5%, with the smallest party, the

Alliance for the Democratisation of the Army The Alliance for the Democratisation of the Army (in Dutch: ''Verbond tot Democratisering der Weermacht'', VDW) was a Dutch political party representing military interests. The VDW played only a marginal role in Dutch politics. Party History The ...

, managing to win a seat with only 6,828 votes.

Results

References

{{Dutch general elections General elections in the Netherlands

1918 in the Netherlands Election and referendum articles with incomplete results July 1918 events 1918 elections in the Netherlands