1891 Spanish general election

1891 Spanish general election

←  1886 1 February 1891 (Congress) 15 February 1891 (Senate) 1893  →
All 446 seats in the Congress of Deputies and 180 (of 360) seats in the Senate 224 seats needed for a majority in the Congress of Deputies
Registered	4,800,000
First party Second party Third party   Leader Antonio Cánovas del Castillo Práxedes Mateo Sagasta Francisco Romero Robledo Party Conservative Liberal Liberal Reformist Leader since 1874 1880 1886 Leader's seat Cieza Logroño Antequera Last election 71 (C) ·33 (S) 320 (C) ·126 (S) [lower-alpha 1] 11 (C) ·4 (S) Seats won 285 (C) ·115 (S) 100 (C) ·40 (S) 16 (C) ·8 (S) Seat change 214 (C) · 82 (S) 220 (C) · 86 (S) 5 (C) · 4 (S)   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Emilio Castelar Manuel Ruiz Zorrilla Cristino Martos Party Republican Progressive Martist Leader since 1879 1880 1890 Leader's seat Huesca Barcelona Orgaz Last election 15 (C) ·6 (S) [lower-alpha 2] 10 (C) ·1 (S) Did not contest Seats won 15 (C) ·1 (S) 12 (C) ·0 (S) 8 (C) ·1 (S) Seat change 0 (C) · 5 (S) 2 (C) · 1 (S) 8 (C) · 1 (S)
Prime Minister before election Antonio Cánovas del Castillo Conservative Prime Minister after election Antonio Cánovas del Castillo Conservative

The 1891 Spanish general election was held on Sunday, 1 February (for the Congress of Deputies) and on Sunday, 15 February 1891 (for the Senate), to elect the 5th Cortes of the Kingdom of Spain in the Restoration period. All 442 seats in the Congress of Deputies (plus four special districts) were up for election, as well as 180 of 360 seats in the Senate. Following a 1890 reform of the electoral law that saw a change from the previous censitary suffrage to a universal manhood suffrage, the electorate was extended to about 27.3% of the country's population. ^[1]

The election saw a large parliamentary majority for the Conservative Party after Antonio Cánovas del Castillo's return to power in July 1890, following the end of the Liberal Party's "turn" of government between 1885 and 1890.

Overview

Electoral system

The Spanish Cortes were envisaged as "co-legislative bodies", based on a nearly perfect bicameral system. Both the Congress of Deputies and the Senate had legislative, control and budgetary functions, sharing equal powers except for laws on contributions or public credit, where the Congress had preeminence. ^{[2] [3]} Voting for the Cortes was on the basis of universal manhood suffrage, which comprised all national males over 25 years of age, having at least a two-year residency in a municipality and in full enjoyment of their civil rights. ^{[4] [5]} 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 125 Pt per territorial contribution (paid at least one year in advance) or per industrial or trade subsidy (paid at least two years in advance), having a particular position (royal academy numerary members; ecclesiastic individuals; active, unemployed or retired public employees; military personnel; widely recognized painters and sculptors; public teachers; etc.), or having at least a two-year residency in a municipality, provided that an educational or professional capacity could be proven. ^{[6] [7] [8]}

For the Congress of Deputies, 107 seats were elected using a partial block voting system in 31 multi-member constituencies, with the remaining 335 being elected under a one-round first-past-the-post system in single-member districts. Candidates winning a plurality in each constituency were elected. In constituencies electing eight seats or more, electors could vote for no more than three candidates less than the number of seats to be allocated; in those with more than four seats and up to eight, for no more than two less; in those with more than one seat and up to four, for no more than one less; and for one candidate in single-member districts. The Congress was entitled to one member per each 50,000 inhabitants, with each multi-member constituency being allocated a fixed number of seats. Additionally, literary universities, economic societies of Friends of the Country and officially organized chambers of commerce, industry and agriculture were entitled to one seat per each 5,000 registered voters that they comprised, which resulted in four additional special districts for the 1891 election. The law also provided for by-elections to fill seats vacated throughout the legislature. ^{[2] [8] [9] [10] [11]}

As a result of the aforementioned allocation, each Congress multi-member constituency was entitled the following seats: ^{[7] [9] [12] [13] [14] [15]}

Seats	Constituencies
8	Madrid
6	Havana (–2)
5	Barcelona, Palma
4	Santa Clara (–1), Seville
3	Alicante, Almería, Badajoz, Burgos, Cádiz, Cartagena, Córdoba, Granada, Jaén, Jerez de la Frontera, La Coruña, Lugo, Málaga, Matanzas, Murcia, Oviedo, Pamplona, Pinar del Río, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Santander, Santiago de Cuba (–1), Tarragona, Valencia, Valladolid, Zaragoza

For the Senate, 180 seats were indirectly elected by the local councils and major taxpayers, with electors voting for delegates instead of senators. Elected delegates—equivalent in number to one-sixth of the councillors in each local council—would then vote for senators using a write-in, two-round majority voting system. The provinces of Álava, Albacete, Ávila, Biscay, Cuenca, Guadalajara, Guipúzcoa, Huelva, Logroño, Matanzas, Palencia, Pinar del Río, Puerto Príncipe, Santa Clara, Santander, Santiago de Cuba, Segovia, Soria, Teruel, Valladolid and Zamora were allocated two seats each, whereas each of the remaining provinces was allocated three seats, for a total of 147. The remaining 33 were allocated to special districts comprising a number of institutions, electing one seat each—the archdioceses of Burgos, Granada, Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Cuba, Seville, Tarragona, Toledo, Valencia, Valladolid and Zaragoza; the Royal Spanish Academy; the royal academies of History, Fine Arts of San Fernando, Exact and Natural Sciences, Moral and Political Sciences and Medicine; the universities of Madrid, Barcelona, Granada, Havana, Oviedo, Salamanca, Santiago, Seville, Valencia, Valladolid and Zaragoza; and the economic societies of Friends of the Country from Madrid, Barcelona, Havana–Puerto Rico, León, Seville and Valencia. An additional 180 seats comprised senators in their own right—the Monarch's offspring and the heir apparent once coming of age; Grandees of Spain of the first class; Captain Generals of the Army and the Navy Admiral; the Patriarch of the Indies and archbishops; and the presidents of the Council of State, the Supreme Court, the Court of Auditors, the Supreme War Council and the Supreme Council of the Navy, after two years of service—as well as senators for life (who were appointed by the Monarch). ^{[2] [16] [17] [18]}

Election date

The term of each chamber of the Cortes—the Congress and one-half of the elective part of the Senate—expired five years from the date of their previous election, unless they were dissolved earlier. The previous Congress and Senate elections were held on 4 and 25 April 1886, which meant that the legislature's terms would have expired on 4 and 25 April 1891, respectively. The monarch had the prerogative to dissolve both chambers at any given time—either jointly or separately—and call a snap election. ^{[2] [9] [16]} There was no constitutional requirement for simultaneous elections for the Congress and the Senate, nor for the elective part of the Senate to be renewed in its entirety except in the case that a full dissolution was agreed by the monarch. Still, there was only one case of a separate election (for the Senate in 1877) and no half-Senate elections taking place under the 1876 Constitution.

The Cortes were officially dissolved on 29 December 1890, with the dissolution decree setting the election dates for 1 February (for the Congress) and 15 February 1891 (for the Senate) and scheduling for both chambers to reconvene on 2 March. ^[19]

Background

The Spanish Constitution of 1876 enshrined Spain as a constitutional monarchy , awarding the monarch power to name senators and to revoke laws, as well as the title of commander-in-chief of the army. The monarch would also play a key role in the system of el turno pacífico (English: the Peaceful Turn) by appointing and dismissing governments and allowing the opposition to take power. Under this system, the major political parties of the time, the conservatives and the liberals —characterized as elite parties with loose structures and dominated by internal factions led by powerful individuals—alternated in power by means of election rigging , which they achieved through the encasillado, using the links between the Ministry of Governance , the provincial civil governors and the local bosses ( caciques ) to ensure victory and exclude minor parties from the power sharing. ^{[20] [21]}

The 1885–1890 Liberal Party government of Práxedes Mateo Sagasta (later to be known as the "Long Government" or "Long Parliament", in reference to it being only one during the Restoration period to last its full five year-term) ^[22] had seen the introduction of many liberalizing reforms: the 1887 Associations Law allowed the establishment of trade unions such as the General Union of Workers (UGT), as well as the celebration of associative congresses and meetings; the 1888 Jury Law favoured freedom of press by ending prior censorship and taking the jurisdiction over crimes of slander or defamation away from the military; and the 1889 Civil Code which, coupled with the Administrative Procedure Law and the 1888 Administrative Litigation Law (also dubbed in Spanish as Ley Santamaría de Paredes), codified and structured the existing civil and administrative laws. ^{[23] [24] [25]} Finally, the approval of a new electoral law in 1890 reinstated universal suffrage in Spain, definitely repealing censitary suffrage for all forthcoming elections and extending the franchise from about 5% of the population to nearly 25%. ^[1] Other changes included a simplification of the electoral process as well as the removal of the system allowing deputies to be elected through cumulative voting. ^{[9] [26]}

Under the provisions of the Pact of El Pardo and in the context of the so-called "hunch crisis" (crisis de la corazonada)—based in a speech from General Arsenio Martínez-Campos in which he claimed to have the "hunch" that Sagasta's days in power were numbered, amid rumours of a Conservative plan to unveil a scandal that could hurt his reputation or that of his family—Sagasta resigned nearly at the end of his five year-mandate. ^[27] This paved the way for the next "turn" of government under Antonio Cánovas del Castillo and his Conservative Party, who assumed office in July 1890 and started preparations for the general election that was to provide the new government of a parliamentary majority.

Results

Congress of Deputies

← Summary of the 1 February 1891 Congress of Deputies election results →

Parties and alliances		Popular vote		Seats
		Votes	%
	Liberal Conservative Party (PLC)			285
	Liberal Party (PL)			100
	Liberal Reformist Party (PLR)			16
	Republican Coalition (CR)			15
	Progressive Republican Party (PRP)			12
	Martists (M)			8
	Traditionalist Communion (Carlist) (CT)			4
	Integrist Party (PI)			2
	Independents (INDEP)			4
Total				446
Votes cast / turnout
Abstentions
Registered voters		4,800,000
Sources [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38] [39] [40]

Seats PLC   63.90% PL   22.42% PLR   3.59% CR   3.36% PRP   2.69% M   1.79% CT   0.90% PI   0.45% INDEP   0.90%

Senate

← Summary of the 15 February 1891 Senate of Spain election results →

Parties and alliances		Seats
	Liberal Conservative Party (PLC)	115
	Liberal Party (PL)	40
	Liberal Reformist Party (PLR)	8
	Republican Coalition (CR)	1
	Martists (M)	1
	Traditionalist Communion (Carlist) (CT)	1
	Integrist Party (PI)	1
	Independents (INDEP)	3
	Archbishops (ARCH)	10
Total elective seats		180
Sources [41] [42] [43] [44] [45] [46] [47]

Seats PLC   63.89% PL   22.22% PLR   4.44% CR   0.56% M   0.56% CT   0.56% PI   0.56% INDEP   1.67% ARCH   5.56%

Distribution by group

Summary of political group distribution in the 5th Restoration Cortes (1891–1893)

Group		Parties and alliances		C	S	Total
	PLC		Liberal Conservative Party (PLC)	262	105	400
			Constitutional Union of Cuba (UCC)	13	6
			Unconditional Spanish Party (PIE)	9	2
			Basque Dynastics (Urquijist) (DV)	1	2
	PL		Liberal Party (PL)	86	32	140
			Constitutional Union of Cuba (UCC)	10	7
			Unconditional Spanish Party (PIE)	4	1
	PLR		Liberal Reformist Party (PLR)	13	8	24
			Constitutional Union of Cuba (UCC)	3	0
	CR		Possibilist Democratic Party (PDP)	6	1	16
			Federal Republican Party (PRF)	5	0
			Centralist Republican Party (PRC)	2	0
			Puerto Rican Autonomist Party (PAP)	2	0
	PRP		Progressive Republican Party (PRP)	12	0	12
	M		Martists (M)	8	1	9
	CT		Traditionalist Communion (Carlist) (CT)	4	1	5
	PI		Integrist Party (PI)	2	1	3
	INDEP		Independents (INDEP)	4	3	7
	ARCH		Archbishops (ARCH)	0	10	10
Total				446	180	626

Notes

1. Results for PL (308 deputies and 124 senators) and ID (12 deputies and 2 senators) in the 1886 election.
2. Results for PDP (11 deputies and 4 senators), PLRP (3 deputies and 1 senator), PRF (1 deputy and 0 senators) and PLA (0 deputies and 1 senator) in the 1886 election.

References

1. Caballero Domínguez 1999, p. 50.
2. "Constitución de la Monarquía Española". Constitution of 30 June 1876 (PDF) (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 August 2022.
3. "El Senado en la historia constitucional española". Senate of Spain (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 December 2016.
4. García Muñoz 2002, pp. 106–107.
5. Carreras de Odriozola & Tafunell Sambola 2005, p. 1077.
6. García Muñoz 2002, p. 107.
7. Roldán de Montaud 1999, pp. 269–270.
8. "Ley electoral de los Diputados a Cortes". Law of 28 December 1878 (PDF) (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 August 2022.
9. "Ley electoral para Diputados a Cortes". Law of 26 June 1890 (PDF) (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 August 2022.
10. "Ley mandando que los distritos para las elecciones de Diputados á Cortes sean los que se expresan en la división adjunta". Law of 1 January 1871 (PDF) (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 August 2022.
11. "Decreto mandando se verifiquen en Puerto-Rico las elecciones ordinarias de Senadores y Diputados á Córtes" (PDF). Gaceta de Madrid (in Spanish). Agencia Estatal Boletín Oficial del Estado (104): 841–842. 14 April 1871.
12. "Ley dividiendo la provincia de Guipúzcoa en distritos para la elección de Diputados a Cortes". Law of 23 June 1885 (PDF) (in Spanish). Retrieved 6 May 2023.
13. "Ley dividiendo el distrito electoral de Tarrasa en dos, que se denominarán de Tarrasa y de Sabadell". Law of 18 January 1887 (PDF) (in Spanish). Retrieved 6 May 2023.
14. "Ley fijando la división de la provincia de Alava en distritos electorales para Diputados á Cortes". Law of 10 July 1888 (PDF) (in Spanish). Retrieved 6 May 2023.
15. "Real decreto disponiendo que mientras no se publique nueva ley Electoral rija en la isla de Cuba la división en circunscripciones y distritos para la elección de Diputados á Cortes aprobada en el Congreso en la forma que se expresa" (PDF). Gaceta de Madrid (in Spanish). Agencia Estatal Boletín Oficial del Estado (354): 907–908. 20 December 1890.
16. "Ley electoral de Senadores". Law of 8 February 1877 (PDF) (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 August 2022.
17. "Ley dictando reglas para la elección de Senadores en las islas de Cuba y Puerto Rico". Law of 9 January 1879 (PDF) (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 August 2022.
18. "Real decreto determinando el número de Senadores que habrán de elegirse en cada una de las provincias con motivo de las próximas elecciones" (PDF). Gaceta de Madrid (in Spanish). Agencia Estatal Boletín Oficial del Estado (184): 23. 3 July 1881.
19. "Real decreto declarando disuelto el Consejo de los Diputados y la parte electiva del Senado, mandando reunir las Cortes el día 2 de Marzo próximo, y señalando los días en que habrán de verificarse las elecciones de Diputados y Senadores" (PDF). Gaceta de Madrid (in Spanish). Agencia Estatal Boletín Oficial del Estado (364): 997. 30 December 1890.
20. Martorell Linares 1997, pp. 139–143.
21. Martínez Relanzón 2017, pp. 147–148.
22. Martínez Ruiz, Maqueda Abreu & De Diego 1999, p. 111.
23. Martínez Relanzón 2017, p. 146.
24. Montagut, Eduardo (24 November 2016). "El Gobierno de Sagasta (1885-1890)". Nueva Tribuna (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 August 2022.
25. De la Santa Cinta, Joaquín (16 August 2017). "Presidentes del Consejo de Ministros durante la Regencia de María Cristina de Habsburgo-Lorena: Práxedes Mateo Sagasta". El Correo de Pozuelo (in Spanish). Retrieved 4 May 2023.
26. Fernández Almagro 1943, pp. 412–413.
27. Sampedro Escolar 2013, p. 152.
28. López Domínguez 1976, pp. 434–471.
29. Armengol i Segú & Varela Ortega 2001, pp. 655–776.
30. "Elecciones generales. Candidatos a diputados a Cortes por todos los distritos de la Península (1)". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). El Siglo Futuro. 30 January 1891. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
31. "Elecciones generales. Candidatos a diputados a Cortes por todos los distritos de la Península (2)". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). El Siglo Futuro. 31 January 1891. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
32. "Las elecciones". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). El Imparcial. 31 January 1891. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
33. "Las elecciones". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). La Época. 2 February 1891. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
34. "Las elecciones en provincias". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). El Heraldo de Madrid. 2 February 1891. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
35. "Congreso de los Diputados". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). El País. 2 February 1891. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
36. "Datos oficiales". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). El Imparcial. 3 February 1891. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
37. "Los nuevos diputados". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). La Época. 3 February 1891. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
38. "Las elecciones de diputados". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). La Época. 4 February 1891. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
39. "Las elecciones". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). La República. 4 February 1891. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
40. "Resumen general de las elecciones de diputados a Cortes". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). La Época. 23 February 1891. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
41. "Provincias". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). La Correspondencia de España. 16 February 1891. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
42. "Elección de senadores". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). El Imparcial. 16 February 1891. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
43. "Elecciones de senadores". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). La Justicia. 16 February 1891. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
44. "Elecciones de senadores". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). El Liberal. 16 February 1891. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
45. "Las elecciones de senadores". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). El Día. 16 February 1891. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
46. "Senadores por Cuba". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). El Heraldo de Madrid. 16 February 1891. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
47. "Las elecciones de senadores". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). La República. 17 February 1891. Retrieved 13 August 2022.

Bibliography

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