# 1888 Dutch general election

General elections were held in the Netherlands on 6 March 1888, with a second round in 25 constituencies on 20 March. The Liberal Union emerged as the largest party, winning 46 of the 100 seats in the House of Representatives.

## Background

This was the first election held after the constitutional revision of 1887, achieved by Minister of the Interior Jan Heemskerk, which had several effects on the parliamentary system. Firstly, this revision fixed the number of seats in the House of Representatives at 100. Secondly, it abolished multi-seat electoral districts except in large cities in favour of single-seat districts, thus allowing for better representation of geographically concentrated political minorities. Thirdly, the revision ensured all members of the House of Representatives would be elected simultaneously every four years, replacing the previous system of staggered elections. Finally, the change greatly extended suffrage and allowed for gradual further extension by law.
The election was won by the confessional parties, leading to the first Coalition government, combining Anti-Revolutionaries and Catholics, led by Æneas, Baron Mackay, thus heralding a period of Antithesis as championed by Abraham Kuyper, in which government alternated between secular liberals on the left and confessional Anti-Revolutionaries and Catholics on the right. The election also saw the first socialist elected into the House of Representatives, with Ferdinand Domela Nieuwenhuis, leader of the Social Democratic League, being elected in a rural Frisian district.

## Results

| Party | Party | Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | Total seats | +/– |
| | Liberal Union | 195,322 | 48.93 | 33 | 44,662 | 49.48 | 12 | 45 | –3 |
| | Anti-Revolutionary Party | 97,848 | 24.51 | 20 | 22,400 | 24.81 | 7 | 27 | +8 |
| | Catholics | 76,521 | 19.17 | 20 | 20,138 | 22.31 | 6 | 26 | +7 |
| | Radicals | 11,313 | 2.83 | 0 | | | | 0 | 0 |
| | Social Democratic League | 4,016 | 1.01 | 0 | 1,167 | 1.29 | 1 | 1 | +1 |
| | Other parties | 14,149 | 3.54 | 1 | 1,901 | 2.11 | 0 | 1 | +1 |
| Total | Total | 399,169 | 100.00 | 74 | 90,268 | 100.00 | 26 | 100 | 0 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | 236,310 | 98.95 | | 83,845 | 99.13 | | | |
| Invalid votes | Invalid votes | 441 | 0.18 | | 134 | 0.16 | | | |
| Blank votes | Blank votes | 2,059 | 0.86 | | 599 | 0.71 | | | |
| Total votes | Total votes | 238,810 | 100.00 | | 84,578 | 100.00 | | | |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 293,339 | 81.41 | | 110,430 | 76.59 | | | |
| Source: huygens instituut ||||||||||

### By district

Social Democratic    Liberal    Conservative    Anti-Revolutionary    Catholic
District results for the Dutch general election, 1888 :
| District | Winner |
| Alkmaar | Willem van der Kaay |
| Almelo | Willem Cremers |
| Amersfoort | Jan Schimmelpenninck van der Oye |
| Amsterdam | Jacob Theodoor Cremer |
| Amsterdam | Adriaan Gildemeester |
| Amsterdam | Johan George Gleichman |
| Amsterdam | Abraham Hartogh |
| Amsterdam | Bernardus Hermanus Heldt |
| Amsterdam | Arnold Kerdijk |
| Amsterdam | Jan Rutgers van Rozenburg |
| Amsterdam | Johannes Tak van Poortvliet |
| Amsterdam | Willem Hendrik de Beaufort |
| Apeldoorn | Frederik van Bylandt |
| Appingedam | Jan Schepel |
| Arnhem | Willem Rooseboom |
| Assen | Warmold Albertinus van der Feltz |
| Bergen op Zoom | Lambert de Ram |
| Bergum | Okke Tietes Bosgra |
| Beverwijk | Jacob Boreel van Hogelanden |
| Bodegraven | Simon van Velzen |
| Breda | Louis Michiels van Verduynen |
| Breukelen | Willem Jan Roijaards van den Ham |
| Brielle | Gerardus Jacobus Goekoop |
| Delft | Jan Christiaan Fabius |
| Den Bosch | Pierre Guillaume Jean van der Schrieck |
| Den Haag | Lodewijk Gerard Greeve |
| Den Haag | Lodewijk van Kempen |
| Den Haag | Rutger Jan Schimmelpenninck |
| Den Helder | Simon Taco Land |
| Deventer | Albertus van Delden |
| Doetinchem | Jean Gustave Stanislas Bevers |
| Dokkum | Ulrich Herman Huber |
| Dordrecht | Johannes Barendinus van Osenbruggen |
| Druten | Frederic Reekers |
| Ede | Levinus Keuchenius |
| Eindhoven | Antonius van Baar |
| Elst | Godert Willem van Dedem |
| Emmen | Hendrik Jan Smidt |
| Enkhuizen | Dirk Visser van Hazerswoude |
| Enschede | Willem Jacob Geertsema |
| Franeker | Franciscus Lieftinck |
| Goes | Alexander de Savornin Lohman |
| Gorinchem | Hendrik Seret |
| Gouda | Karel Antonie Godin de Beaufort |
| Grave | Jan Harte van Tecklenburg |
| Groningen | Samuel van Houten |
| Groningen | Jacob Dirk Veegens |
| Gulpen | Leonard Ruland |
| Haarlem | Antonie Farncombe Sanders |
| Haarlemmermeer | Frederic Reekers |
| Harlingen | Walle Melis Oppedijk |
| Helmond | Petrus Vermeulen |
| Hilversum | Theodoor Philip Mackay |
| Hontenisse | Felix Walter |
| Hoorn | Willem Karel van Dedem |
| Kampen | Titus van Asch van Wijck |
| Katwijk | Johannes Hendricus Donner |
| Leeuwarden | Johannis Zaaijer |
| Leiden | Hendrik Johannes Bool |
| Lochem | Alex Schimmelpenninck van der Oye |
| Loosduinen | Arnoldus van Berckel |
| Maastricht | Gustave Ruijs van Beerenbroek |
| Meppel | Harm Smeenge |
| Middelburg | Christiaan Lucasse |
| Nijmegen | Anthonie Ernst Reuther |
| Ommen | Jan van Alphen |
| Oostburg | Nicolaas Glinderman |
| Oosterhout | Theodorus Borret |
| Rheden | Maximilien Kolkman |
| Ridderkerk | Theo Heemskerk |
| Roermond | Hubert Joachim Brouwers |
| Rotterdam | Henry David Levyssohn Norman |
| Rotterdam | Rudolf Pieter Mees |
| Rotterdam | George Hermann Hintzen |
| Rotterdam | Herman Cornelis Verniers van der Loeff |
| Rotterdam | Willem Adriaan Viruly Verbrugge |
| Schiedam | Jacob Gerard Patijn |
| Schoterland | Ferdinand Domela Nieuwenhuis |
| Sittard | Jerôme Lambrechts |
| Sliedrecht | Barthold de Geer van Jutphaas |
| Sneek | Willem Gerard Brantsen van de Zijp |
| Steenwijk | Gerard Beelaerts van Blokland |
| Tiel | Herman Jacob Dijckmeester |
| Tilburg | Bernardus Marie Bahlmann |
| Utrecht | Joan Röell |
| Utrecht | August Seyffardt |
| Veendam | Hendrik Goeman Borgesius |
| Veghel | Bernardus van Vlijmen |
| Venlo | Leopold Haffmans |
| Waalwijk | Antonius Franciscus Vos de Wael |
| Weert | Jean Clercx |
| Wijk bij Duurstede | Herman Schaepman |
| Winschoten | Derk de Ruiter Zijlker |
| Wolvega | Ruurd Klazer Okma |
| Zaandam | Willem de Meijier |
| Zevenbergen | Joannes van Nunen |
| Zierikzee | Jacob Johan van Kerkwijk |
| Zuidhorn | Eppo Cremers |
| Zutphen | Derck Engelberts |
| Zwolle | Alexander van Dedem |