1948 Dutch Senate election

Elections for all 50 seats in the Senate of the Netherlands were held on 8 July 1948.

Senators were elected by provincial councils in four "electoral groups". Group I comprised North Brabant, Zeeland, Utrecht and Limburg; group II comprised Gelderland, Overijssel, Groningen and Drenthe; group III comprised North Holland and Friesland; and group IV comprised South Holland. Within each electoral group, Senators were elected by provincial councils using party-list proportional representation. Provincial councillors' votes were weighted to their province's population.^[1]

As Senators were elected by the same provincial councillors as in the previous 1946 Senate election, no seats changed hands. The incumbent government, consisting of the Catholic People's Party (KVP) and the Labour Party (PvdA) retained its combined majority of 31 seats.

Results

1948 Senate election

Party		Unweighted		Weighted		Seats	+/–
Party		Votes	%	Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Catholic People's Party	182	31.22	30,428	32.99	17	0
	Labour Party	155	26.59	23,745	25.74	14	0
	Anti-Revolutionary Party	79	13.55	11,511	12.48	7	0
	Communist Party of the Netherlands	51	8.75	10,322	11.19	4	0
	Christian Historical Union	66	11.32	8,744	9.48	5	0
	People's Party for Freedom and Democracy	41	7.03	6,198	6.72	3	0
	Reformed Political Party	9	1.54	1,293	1.40	0	0
Total		583	100.00	92,241	100.00	50	0

Valid votes		583	100.00	92,241	100.00
Invalid/blank votes		0	0.00	0	0.00
Total votes		583	100.00	92,241	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		590	98.81	92,370	99.86
Source: Staatscourant^[2]

By electoral group

1948 Senate election in electoral group I
Party		Unweighted		Weighted		Seats	+/–
Party		Votes	%	Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Catholic People's Party	110	56.12	16,939	64.02	9	0
	Labour Party	32	16.33	3,806	14.39	2	0
	Christian Historical Union	19	9.69	1,786	6.75	1	0
	Anti-Revolutionary Party	15	7.65	1,614	6.10	1	0
	People's Party for Freedom and Democracy	10	5.10	1,212	4.58	0	0
	Reformed Political Party	5	2.55	368	1.39	0	0
	Communist Party of the Netherlands	5	2.55	733	2.77	0	0
Total		196	100.00	26,458	100.00	13	0

Valid votes		196	100.00	26,458	100.00
Invalid/blank votes		0	0.00	0	0.00
Total votes		196	100.00	26,458	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		192	102.08	25,929	102.04
Source: Staatscourant^[2]

1948 Senate election in electoral group II
Party		Unweighted		Weighted		Seats	+/–
Party		Votes	%	Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Labour Party	58	31.35	6,861	30.20	4	0
	Catholic People's Party	36	19.46	5,164	22.73	3	0
	Anti-Revolutionary Party	30	16.22	3,437	15.13	2	0
	Christian Historical Union	27	14.59	3,411	15.02	2	0
	People's Party for Freedom and Democracy	17	9.19	1,856	8.17	1	0
	Communist Party of the Netherlands	16	8.65	1,853	8.16	1	0
	Reformed Political Party	1	0.54	133	0.59	0	0
Total		185	100.00	22,715	100.00	13	0

Valid votes		185	100.00	22,715	100.00
Invalid/blank votes		0	0.00	0	0.00
Total votes		185	100.00	22,715	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		189	97.88	23,303	97.48
Source: Staatscourant^[3]

1948 Senate election in electoral group III
Party		Unweighted		Weighted		Seats	+/–
Party		Votes	%	Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Labour Party	40	32.79	6,478	31.77	4	0
	Communist Party of the Netherlands	22	18.03	4,066	19.94	2	0
	Catholic People's Party	18	14.75	3,573	17.52	2	0
	Anti-Revolutionary Party	22	18.03	3,292	16.15	2	0
	Christian Historical Union	13	10.66	1,699	8.33	1	0
	People's Party for Freedom and Democracy	7	5.74	1,282	6.29	1	0
Total		122	100.00	20,390	100.00	12	0

Valid votes		122	100.00	20,390	100.00
Invalid/blank votes		0	0.00	0	0.00
Total votes		122	100.00	20,390	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		127	96.06	21,490	94.88
Source: Staatscourant^[4]

1948 Senate election in electoral group IV
Party		Unweighted		Weighted		Seats	+/–
Party		Votes	%	Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Labour Party	25	31.25	6,600	31.25	4	0
	Catholic People's Party	18	22.50	4,752	22.50	3	0
	Anti-Revolutionary Party	12	15.00	3,168	15.00	2	0
	Communist Party of the Netherlands	8	10.00	2,112	10.00	1	0
	Christian Historical Union	7	8.75	1,848	8.75	1	0
	People's Party for Freedom and Democracy	7	8.75	1,848	8.75	1	0
	Reformed Political Party	3	3.75	792	3.75	0	0
Total		80	100.00	21,120	100.00	12	0

Valid votes		80	100.00	21,120	100.00
Invalid/blank votes		0	0.00	0	0.00
Total votes		80	100.00	21,120	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		82	97.56	21,648	97.56
Source: Staatscourant^[5]

References

^ "Geschiedenis kiesstelsel Eerste Kamer". Parlement.com (in Dutch). Retrieved 23 August 2025.
^ ^a ^b "PROCES-VERBAAL van de zitting van het Centraal Stembureau, bedoeld in artikel 115o der Kieswet". Staatscourant (in Dutch). The Hague. 12 July 1948. p. 13. Retrieved 31 January 2026.
^ "PROCES-VERBAAL van de zitting van het Centraal Stembureau, bedoeld in artikel 115o der Kieswet". Staatscourant (in Dutch). The Hague. 12 July 1948. p. 19. Retrieved 31 January 2026.
^ "PROCES-VERBAAL van de zitting van het Centraal Stembureau, bedoeld in artikel 115o der Kieswet". Staatscourant (in Dutch). The Hague. 12 July 1948. p. 25. Retrieved 31 January 2026.
^ "PROCES-VERBAAL van de zitting van het Centraal Stembureau, bedoeld in artikel 115o der Kieswet". Staatscourant (in Dutch). The Hague. 12 July 1948. p. 29. Retrieved 31 January 2026.

[1] "Geschiedenis kiesstelsel Eerste Kamer". Parlement.com (in Dutch). Retrieved 23 August 2025.

[a-2] "PROCES-VERBAAL van de zitting van het Centraal Stembureau, bedoeld in artikel 115o der Kieswet". Staatscourant (in Dutch). The Hague. 12 July 1948. p. 13. Retrieved 31 January 2026.

[3] "PROCES-VERBAAL van de zitting van het Centraal Stembureau, bedoeld in artikel 115o der Kieswet". Staatscourant (in Dutch). The Hague. 12 July 1948. p. 19. Retrieved 31 January 2026.

[4] "PROCES-VERBAAL van de zitting van het Centraal Stembureau, bedoeld in artikel 115o der Kieswet". Staatscourant (in Dutch). The Hague. 12 July 1948. p. 25. Retrieved 31 January 2026.

[5] "PROCES-VERBAAL van de zitting van het Centraal Stembureau, bedoeld in artikel 115o der Kieswet". Staatscourant (in Dutch). The Hague. 12 July 1948. p. 29. Retrieved 31 January 2026.

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Dutch Senate elections
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See also: Electoral colleges for the Senate