1866 Swedish general election

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General elections were held in Sweden in 1866. They were the first elections for the new Second Chamber (Andra kammaren) in the Riksdag, which would serve a three-year term. Suffrage was given to men over the age of 21 who either had a taxable income of at least 800 riksdaler a year, owned a property worth at least 1,000 riksdaler, or rented a property taxed to at least 6,000 riksdaler. [1] This meant that around 5.5% of the population were able to vote, a slight reduction from the 6% that had been eligible under the previous Estates system. [2] The changes had been approved following a 60,000-strong petition and a vote in the House of Nobility in December 1865 during which crowds had gathered outside to pressure the nobles into approving it. [2]

The 190 seats consisted of one representative from every Domsaga (or two for Domsaga with a population exceeding 40,000) and one representative for every 10,000 residents of a town (with smaller towns merged into combined constituencies). [1] Candidates were required to be at least 25 years old. [1]

Around 187,000 voters qualified by real estate, 9,500 through their rental arrangements and 10,500 through their income. Many property owners were farmers, giving the rural Lantmanna Party a dominant position in the second chamber.

The other house in the Riksdag, the 125-seat First Chamber, was dominated by the upper classes, with membership restricted to the 6,000 wealthiest people in the country, less than 1% of the population. [2]

Results

Of the 190 elected members, 107 had previously served in the Estates. [2]

Sweden Riksdag 1866.svg
PartySeats
Lantmanna Party 81
Ministerial Party38
Independents71
Total190
Source: Norberg et al. [3]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Elis Sidenbladh (1876) Swedish Catalogue, p19
  2. 1 2 3 4 Robert Justin Goldstein (2013) Political Repression in 19th Century Europe, Routledge, p231
  3. Anders Norberg, Andreas Tjerneld, Björn Asker (1992) Tvåkammarriksdagen 1867-1970, Almqvist & Wiksell International