electionstracker

Netherlands 1948 general election

What was the result of the 1948 general election in the Netherlands?

Catholic People's Party won 32 of 100 seats with 31.0% of the vote. 93.7% of registered voters cast a ballot.

  • Netherlands
  • Held:
  • Final result
  • ParlGov, read 5 October 2026

Which party won the most seats?

Final results from ParlGov, read : Catholic People's Party won 32 of 100 seats with 31.0% of the vote; 93.7% of registered voters cast a ballot, up 0.6 points on 1946.

  • Catholic People's Party 32 0 seats 31.0% +0.2 points
  • Labour Party 27 −2 seats 25.6% −2.7 points
  • Anti-Revolutionary Party 13 0 seats 13.2% +0.3 points
  • Christian Historical Union 9 +1 seat 9.2% +1.4 points
  • People's Party for Freedom and Democracy 8 +2 seats 8.0% +1.5 points
  • Communist Party of the Netherlands 8 −2 seats 7.7% −2.8 points
  • Reformed Political Party 2 0 seats 2.4% +0.2 points
  • Catholic National Party 1 1.3%
  • Seats won
  • Change on the previous election at the right
  • Share of the vote
  • Share at the previous election
  • Change in points at the right

Changes are against the Netherlands 1946 general election, party by party.

51 of 100 seats make a majority

Key numbers

  1. 31.0%

    Share of the vote won by Catholic People's Party

    Catholic People's Party won 32 of 100 seats. A majority needs 51.

  2. +2 seats

    Seats gained by People's Party for Freedom and Democracy

    The largest gain in seats compared with 1946. Communist Party of the Netherlands lost 2 seats.

  3. 93.7%

    Voter turnout

    Up 0.6 points on 1946.

Seats and votes by party

PartySeats± seats%± pointsVotes
Catholic People's Party32031.0+0.21,531,154
Labour Party27−225.6−2.71,263,058
Anti-Revolutionary Party13013.2+0.3651,612
Christian Historical Union9+19.2+1.4453,226
People's Party for Freedom and Democracy8+28.0+1.5391,925
Communist Party of the Netherlands8−27.7−2.8382,001
Reformed Political Party202.4+0.2116,937
Catholic National Party11.362,376
Largest party without seats000.8+0.240,949

± is the change against the Netherlands 1946 general election, party by party.

Votes by party
  • Catholic People's Party 1,531,154
  • Labour Party 1,263,058
  • Anti-Revolutionary Party 651,612
  • Christian Historical Union 453,226
  • People's Party for Freedom and Democracy 391,925
  • Communist Party of the Netherlands 382,001
  • Reformed Political Party 116,937
  • Catholic National Party 62,376
  • Largest party without seats 40,949

ParlGov lists parties with at least 1 percent of the vote or 2 seats, so the rows do not add up to the valid votes.

How many people voted?

93.7% of the 5,433,363 registered voters cast a ballot (5,089,582 ballots), up 0.6 points on 1946. 4,932,959 of them were valid votes.

How do the votes compare with the seats?

  • Catholic People's Party31.0% of votes32.0% of seats
  • Labour Party25.6% of votes27.0% of seats
  • Anti-Revolutionary Party13.2% of votes13.0% of seats
  • Christian Historical Union9.2% of votes9.0% of seats
  • People's Party for Freedom and Democracy8.0% of votes8.0% of seats
  • Communist Party of the Netherlands7.7% of votes8.0% of seats
  • Reformed Political Party2.4% of votes2.0% of seats
  • Catholic National Party1.3% of votes1.0% of seats
Each party's share of the vote (outlined) and of the seats (filled)

The Gallagher index of disproportionality is 1.4 (0 when seats follow votes exactly); the effective number of parties is 5.0 by votes and 4.7 by seats; Catholic People's Party led Labour Party by 5.4 points of the vote.

Time and source Data as of