1869 Spanish general election

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1869 Spanish general election
Flag of Spain (1785-1873, 1875-1931).svg
 186715–18 January 1869
27–30 January 1869 (Canary Islands)
30 May – 1 June 1869 (Puerto Rico)
1871  

All 381 seats of the Congress of Deputies [a]
191 seats needed for a majority
Registered3,798,284
Turnout2,943,460 (77.5%)
 First partySecond partyThird party
  Juan Prim 1870 (cropped).jpg Pi i Margall 1869 cropped.png Charles of Bourbon in Mundo Grafico.jpg
Leader Juan Prim Francesc Pi i Margall Carlos, Duke of Madrid
Party Monarchist–Democratic Republican Carlist
Leader's seat Madrid Barcelona
Seats won2596923
Popular vote8,743,2862,987,3981,090,254
Percentage65.0%22.2%8.1%

Prime Minister before election

Francisco Serrano
Liberal Union

Prime Minister after election

Francisco Serrano
Liberal Union

A general election was held in Spain from Friday, 15 January to Monday, 18 January 1869, to elect the members of the Constituent Cortes in the Democratic Sexennium period. 363 of 381 seats in the Congress of Deputies were up for election. In the Canary Islands the election was held from 27 to 30 January, in Puerto Rico it was held from 30 May to 1 June, and in Cuba it was indefinitely postponed. [a]

Contents

The election was the first to be held following the Glorious Revolution in September 1868, which had resulted in the overthrow of the Moderate Party from power and the exile of Queen Isabella II. A provisional government under Francisco Serrano, supported by the Progressive Party, the Liberal Union and elements from the Democratic Party, was formed to organize an election to Constituent Cortes, aiming at replacing the Spanish Constitution of 1845 with a new constitution.

Background

The Glorious Revolution in Spain in September 1868, marking the starting point of the Democratic Sexennium, had led to the overthrow of the Moderate Party's government and the exile of Queen Isabella II, with the revolutionaries aiming for a reform of the Isabelline political system through a constituent assembly elected by universal suffrage. [3] With the purpose of organizing this election, the Progressive Party and the Liberal Union formed a provisional government led by Francisco Serrano, Duke of la Torre, running together as part of the Monarchist–Democratic Coalition that aimed for the establishment of a "democratic monarchy". [4] Public enthusiasm after the revolution saw favourable conditions for a relatively free and fair election, with the government not needing to resort to electoral fraud to provide itself with a parliamentary majority. [5]

As for the Democratic Party, following several assemblies held between October and November 1868, it decided to withdraw its support for the government after concluding that the provisions of the Pact of Ostend had been fulfilled, advocate for the establishment of a federal republic and re-establish itself as the Federal Democratic Republican Party (PRDF). A faction of the party opposed this decision and decided to opt for the "democratic monarchy" proposed by the government, becoming popularly known as the Cimbrios and joining the government's ticket. One of the factors that most helped the popularization of the PRDF in the country's urban areas would be its opposition to the consumption taxes—established in 19th-century Spain and taxing essential goods—and the quintas, a system of forced recruitment of young people into the Spanish Army which saw wealthier families being able to "exempt" their offspring from military service by paying a fee (the redención en metálico or "cash redemption") or by hiring a replacement ("substitution"). Many had hoped these would be abolished with the success of the Revolution and felt betrayed by the government's decision to uphold them. [6] [7]

The Carlist movement only became established as a political party in the Revolution of 1868, having previously preferred military procedures; as a result the Catholic–Monarchist Communion was formed to participate in the election, although still subordinated to the Royal Carlist Armies. [8]

Overview

Electoral system

Under the Pact of Ostend and the Cádiz Manifestos, the Spanish Cortes were envisaged as a constituent assembly tasked with drafting a new constitution that would replace the legal framework of the Isabelline period. [9] [10] [3] Voting for the Cortes was on the basis of universal manhood suffrage, which comprised all national males over 25 years of age and with a neighborhood certificate. [11] [12] [13] In Cuba and Puerto Rico, voting was on the basis of censitary suffrage, comprising males of age fulfilling one of the following criteria: being taxpayers with a minimum quota of 50 escudos per territorial contribution or per industrial or trade subsidy; having a particular position (individuals from scientific and literary corporations, and those from the economic societies of Friends of the Country; doctors and graduates in all faculties; ordained ministers; active, unemployed and retired public employees; general officers of the Army and Navy exempt from service, and retired military and naval chiefs and officers; and reporters, chamber secretaries and court clerks of higher courts); directors or heads of industrial establishments and commercial managers and certified teachers); and painters and sculptors awarded in national or international exhibitions. [14] Voters were required to not being sentenced—by a final court ruling—to disqualification from political rights, to afflictive penalties not legally rehabilitated; neither being criminally prosecuted with an arrest warrant; nor being legally incapacitated, bankrupt, insolvent, or debtors of public funds. [15] [16]

The Congress of Deputies was entitled to one member per each 45,000 inhabitants or fraction greater than 22,500. Seats were allocated to constituencies, distributed among the provinces of Spain and the Spanish West Indies in proportion to their populations. Provinces electing between six and ten seats were to be divided into two constituencies, whereas those electing over ten seats were to be divided into three constituencies, with the exception of the Balearics and the Canary Islands, which were to be divided according to their special circumstances. Electors could vote for as many candidates as the number of seats allocated in each constituency, with seats being elected using plurality voting. [17] [18] Additional seats were allocated to multi-member districts in the islands of Cuba and Puerto Rico—18 and 11, respectively—where elections were delayed or indefinitely postponed. [2] [19]

As a result of the aforementioned allocation, each Congress multi-member constituency was entitled the following seats: [19] [20]

SeatsConstituencies
7 Havana, Madrid
6 Avilés, Barcelona, Castellón, Ciudad Real, Coruña, Huesca, Játiva, Matanzas, Oviedo, Salamanca, Santiago, Zamora
5 Albacete, Alicante, Badajoz, Cuenca, Granada, Guadalajara, Manresa, Motril, Murcia, Pontevedra, Santander, Santiago de Cuba, Seville, Teruel, Valladolid, Vich, Vigo, Zaragoza
4 Alcalá, Alcoy, Almería, Astorga, Ávila, Baeza, Bilbao, Burgos, Cáceres, Cádiz, Calatayud, Castuera, Córdoba, Gerona, Ginzo de Limia, Huelva, Jaén, León, Lérida, Liria, Lorca, Logroño, Lugo, Mayagüez, Mondoñedo, Montilla, Orense, Palencia, Palma, Pamplona, Ronda, San Juan Bautista, San Sebastián, Tarragona, Toledo, Valencia
3 Antequera, Arecibo, Briviesca, Écija, Estella, Huercalovera, Jerez, Málaga, Morón, Ocaña, Olot, Plasencia, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Segovia, Seo de Urgel, Soria, Tortosa
2 Álava, Las Palmas, Mahón

The law provided for by-elections to fill seats vacated in the Congress throughout the legislature's term, provided that this comprised at least one third of the seats assigned to a given province. [21]

Eligibility

Spanish citizens with the legal capacity to vote could run for election, provided that they were not holders of government-appointed offices in constituencies within the whole or part of their respective area of jurisdiction; nor held any public, civil, military or overseas position that required residence outside of Madrid; [22] additionally for the Spanish West Indies, ineligibility extended to those having been convicted of crimes related to the repression of slave trade. [23] A number of positions were exempt from ineligibility: [24] [25]

Election date

The election decree was issued on 6 December 1868, setting the election dates from 15 to 18 January 1869 in most of the country and from 27 to 30 January in the Canary Islands, scheduling for both chambers to reconvene on 11 February. [26] [27] [28] The publication of the election decree for Puerto Rico was delayed until 30 April, setting the election dates for the island from 30 May to 1 June. [29] In Cuba, elections were indefinitely postponed due to the outbreak of the Ten Years' War. [1] [2]

Results

Overall

Summary of the 15–18 January 1869 [b] Congress of Deputies election results
SpainCongressDiagram1869.svg
Parties and alliancesPopular voteSeats
Votes%Total+/−
Monarchist–Democratic Coalition (PULD)8,743,28664.97259
Progressive Party (PP)4,277,50431.79133
Liberal Union (UL)2,924,92521.7496
Democratic Party (PD)741,5055.5127
Others799,3525.943
Federal Democratic Republican Party (PRDF)2,987,39822.2069
Catholic–Monarchist Communion (CMC)1,090,2548.1023
Moderate Party (PM)220,1111.641
Independent Conservatives (CON.IND)5,6530.047
Independent Liberals (L.IND)3,6610.034
Independents (INDEP)119,9340.890
Vacant [a] 18
Others286,5502.130
Total13,456,847381
Votes cast / turnout2,943,46077.49
Abstentions853,68622.51
Registered voters3,798,284
Sources [30] [31] [32]
Popular vote
M–D
64.97%
PRDF
22.20%
CMC
8.10%
PM
1.64%
CON.IND
0.04%
L.IND
0.03%
INDEP
0.89%
Others
2.13%
Seats
M–D
67.98%
PRDF
18.11%
CMC
6.04%
CON.IND
1.84%
L.IND
1.05%
PM
0.26%
Vacant
4.72%

By province

Summary of provincial results in the 15–18 January 1869 [b] Congress of Deputies election
Province M–D PRDF CMC PM CON.IND L.IND Vacant
%S%S%S%S%S%S%S
Álava 0.24.088.52
Albacete 83.7511.53.1
Alicante 64.7632.83
Almería 85.5711.11.2
Ávila 78.549.23.71.0
Badajoz 73.5820.711.6
Balearics 67.1624.54.7
Barcelona 39.8744.0814.31
Biscay 16.51.082.54
Burgos 71.461.84.318.81
Cáceres 67.6728.20.3
Cádiz 36.660.79
Canaries 84.0513.4
Castellón 56.6626.014.71.4
Ciudad Real 68.8516.39.113.2
Córdoba 74.5819.51.40.3
Cuenca 75.051.28.112.3
Gerona 29.2142.9427.82
Granada 73.5817.326.01.0
Guadalajara 68.848.1114.66.9
Guipúzcoa 32.667.24
Havana 7
Huelva 66.5332.510.4
Huesca 50.8148.35
Jaén 74.9820.7
La Coruña 85.9125.61.20.1
León 74.179.411.66.9
Lérida 25.561.679.53.2
Logroño 82.1413.10.4
Lugo 95.7102.10.1
Madrid 68.51122.82.21.4
Málaga 64.7833.620.0
Matanzas 6
Murcia 72.6725.52
Navarre 24.210.674.56
Orense 77.6719.210.7
Oviedo 61.8107.822.123.9
Palencia 64.6313.6120.4
Pontevedra 94.4104.9
Puerto Rico 57.4737.24
Salamanca 48.5425.2121.21
Santander 72.2510.812.11.6
Santiago de Cuba 5
Segovia 78.130.717.3
Seville 45.4253.49
Soria 67.232.927.5
Tarragona 52.5544.022.0
Teruel 62.7536.6
Toledo 77.3614.310.73.7
Valencia 59.81030.048.31.1
Valladolid 66.5518.49.4
Zamora 86.861.95.8
Zaragoza 50.8542.941.7
Total65.025922.2698.1231.610.070.0418

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 Elections in Cuba were indefinitely postponed due to the outbreak of the Ten Years' War, resulting in the vacancy of the 18 seats allocated to the island. [1] [2]
  2. 1 2 In the Canary Islands, the election was held from 27 to 30 January 1869. In Puerto Rico, it was held from 30 May to 1 June 1869.

References

  1. 1 2 Roldán de Montaud 1999, p. 246.
  2. 1 2 3 Decree of 1 April (1871), explanatory statement: "On the island of Cuba, the work of preparing electoral lists was hampered by the state of war that prevailed there and the necessary replacement of the electoral districts established by the decree, now law, of 14 December 1868, with new districts. In Puerto Rico, the difficulties arose first from the election that was to be held for the provincial deputation, and then from the need to form new lists subject to the conditions for exercising the right to vote set forth in Article 10 of the draft Constitution of this Antillean island. [Spanish: En la isla de Cuba embarazaron los trabajos de formación de las listas electorales el estado de guerra que allí se sostiene y la precisa sustitución por nuevos distritos de las circunscripciones de elección establecidos por el decreto, hoy ley, de 14 de diciembre de 1868. En Puerto Rico las dificultades nacieron, primero de la elección que debió celebrarse de la Diputación provincial, y después de la necesidad de formar nuevas listas con sujeción a las condiciones que para ejercer el derecho electoral declara el art. 10 del proyecto de Constitución de esta Antilla.]".
  3. 1 2 López Domínguez 1976, pp. 169–170.
  4. Fontana & Villares 2007, pp. 347–359.
  5. Fernández Almagro 1943, p. 397.
  6. Vilches 2001, pp. 90–101.
  7. Duarte Montserrat 2013, pp. 353–354.
  8. Ferrer Dalmau 1941.
  9. Manifiestos de Cádiz (PDF) (Manifestos). Madrid Gazette (in Spanish). Provisional Revolutionary Board. 19 September 1868. Retrieved 20 September 2025.
  10. La Junta Revolucionaria de gobierno constituida en la capital de la nación, encomienda al Capitán General del ejercito, D. Francisco de Serrano, Duque de la Torre, la formación de un Gobierno provisional que rija el Estado hasta la reunión de las Cortes Constituyentes (PDF) (Decree). Madrid Gazette (in Spanish). Provisional Government Board. 3 October 1868. Retrieved 14 September 2025.
  11. Decree of 9 November (1868) , art. 1.
  12. Ortega Álvarez & Santaolaya Machetti 1996, p. 82.
  13. Carreras de Odriozola & Tafunell Sambola 2005, p. 1076.
  14. Decree of 14 December (1868) , arts. 7 & 9.
  15. Decree of 9 November (1868) , art. 2.
  16. Decree of 14 December (1868) , art. 10.
  17. Decree of 9 November (1868) , arts. 95–98.
  18. Ortega Álvarez & Santaolaya Machetti 1996, pp. 82–83.
  19. 1 2 Decree of 14 December (1868) , demonstrative chart.
  20. Decree of 9 November (1868) , demonstrative chart.
  21. Decree of 9 November (1868) , arts. 19–21.
  22. Decree of 9 November (1868) , arts. 13–14.
  23. Decree of 14 December (1868) , arts. 11–13.
  24. Decree of 9 November (1868) , art. 13.
  25. Decree of 14 December (1868) , art. 12.
  26. De la Fuente Monge 2020, pp. 93–94.
  27. Decreto convocando Cortes Constituyentes y señalando los días en que se ha de proceder a la elección de los Diputados para las mismas (PDF) (Decree). Madrid Gazette (in Spanish). Provisional Government and Council of Ministers. 6 December 1868. Retrieved 14 September 2025.
  28. Decreto dictando varias reglas para el ejercicio del sufragio universal (PDF) (Decree). Madrid Gazette (in Spanish). Minister of Governance. 30 December 1868. Retrieved 14 September 2025.
  29. López Domínguez 1976, p. 175.
  30. De la Fuente Monge 2020, pp. 115–123.
  31. López Domínguez 1976, pp. 187–192 & 705–709.
  32. Lozano, Carles. "Elecciones Cortes Constituyentes 15 de enero de 1869". Historia Electoral.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 September 2025.

Bibliography