1893 Spanish general election

1893 Spanish general election

←  1891 5 March 1893 (Congress) 19 March 1893 (Senate) [lower-alpha 1] 1896  →
All 447 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	4,072,776
Turnout	2,786,216 (68.4%)
First party Second party Third party   Leader Práxedes Mateo Sagasta Antonio Cánovas del Castillo Manuel Ruiz Zorrilla Party Liberal Conservative Republican Leader since 1880 1874 1893 Leader's seat Logroño Cieza Madrid Last election 108 (C) ·41 (S) [lower-alpha 2] 301 (C) ·123 (S) [lower-alpha 3] 21 (C) ·0 (S) [lower-alpha 4] Seats won 298 (C) ·119 (S) 67 (C) ·35 (S) 36 (C) ·2 (S) Seat change 190 (C) · 78 (S) 234 (C) · 88 (S) 15 (C) · 2 (S)   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Emilio Castelar Francisco Silvela Enrique de Aguilera y Gamboa Party Possibilist Silvelist Carlist Leader since 1879 1892 1891 Leader's seat Huesca Piedrahíta (lost) — Last election 6 (C) ·1 (S) Did not contest 4 (C) ·1 (S) Seats won 18 (C) ·6 (S) 17 (C) ·4 (S) 8 (C) ·2 (S) Seat change 12 (C) · 5 (S) 17 (C) · 4 (S) 4 (C) · 1 (S)
Election results by Congress of Deputies electoral constituency and district Election results by Senate electoral constituencies
Prime Minister before election Práxedes Mateo Sagasta Liberal Prime Minister after election Práxedes Mateo Sagasta Liberal

The 1893 Spanish general election was held on Sunday, 5 March (for the Congress of Deputies) and on Sunday, 19 March 1893 (for the Senate), ^{[lower-alpha 1]} to elect the 6th Cortes of the Kingdom of Spain in the Restoration period. All 442 seats in the Congress of Deputies (plus five special districts) were up for election, as well as 180 of 360 seats in the Senate.

The ruling Liberal Party of Práxedes Mateo Sagasta secured a large majority in the Cortes, granting him the required parliamentary support for a new "turn" in power. This came following the downfall of Antonio Cánovas del Castillo's Conservative Party government in December 1892 as a result of an internal split by former minister Francisco Silvela over the issue of political regeneration. The election also saw a strong performance by pro-republican parties, which went on to win in the two main Spanish cities (Madrid and Barcelona) and secure over 10% of the seats in the Congress.

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. ^{[4] [5]} 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. ^{[6] [7]} In Cuba and Puerto Rico voting was on the basis of censitary suffrage, with a minimum taxpayer quota—of $5 in Cuba and $10 in Puerto Rico, following a 1892 reform—per territorial contribution or per industrial or trade subsidy (paid at the time of registering for voting), 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. ^{[8] [9] [10] [11]}

For the Congress of Deputies, 116 seats were elected using a partial block voting system in 34 multi-member constituencies, with the remaining 326 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 five additional special districts for the 1893 election. The law also provided for by-elections to fill seats vacated throughout the legislature. ^{[4] [10] [12] [13]}

As a result of the aforementioned allocation, each Congress multi-member constituency was entitled the following seats: ^{[9] [12] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18]}

Seats	Constituencies
8	Madrid
6	Havana
5	Barcelona, Palma
4	Santa Clara, Seville
3	Alicante, Almería, Badajoz, Burgos, Cádiz, Cartagena, Córdoba, Granada, Jaén, Jerez de la Frontera, La Coruña, Lugo, Málaga, Matanzas, Mayagüez (+2), Murcia, Oviedo, Pamplona, Pinar del Río, Ponce (+2), San Juan Bautista (+2), Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Santander, Santiago de Cuba, 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). ^{[4] [19] [20] [21]}

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 1 and 15 February 1891, which meant that the legislature's terms would have expired on 1 and 15 February 1896, respectively. The monarch had the prerogative to dissolve both chambers at any given time—either jointly or separately—and call a snap election. ^{[4] [12] [19]} 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 5 January and 4 February 1893, with the dissolution decree setting the election dates for 5 March (for the Congress) and 19 March 1893 (for the Senate) and scheduling for both chambers to reconvene on 5 April. ^{[22] [23]}

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. ^{[24] [25]}

The 1890–1892 government led by Antonio Cánovas del Castillo was characterized by the preservation of the political and legal reforms made by the previous Liberal government and a protectionist economic policy—seeing the approval of the "Cánovas tariff" to imports, aimed at protecting large Castilian farmers and Catalan textile manufacturers from the competition of American wheat and English fabrics. ^[26] The government fell apart as a result of governance minister Francisco Silvela breaking out of the Conservative Party in November 1891 over a lack of political regeneration—self-evidenced in the unveiling of administrative irregularities and corruption in the City Council of Madrid—but also because of an internal strife with long-time rival Francisco Romero Robledo, who had returned to the Conservatives' fold following the failed experience of his Liberal Reformist Party. ^{[27] [26]} In addition, Cánovas' tenure had been plagued by peasant and anarchist rebellions—such as the Jerez uprising or an attempted plot to plant explosives in the Cortes parliament building—with labour conflicts, strikes and protests being commonplace. ^[28] The government's repression of these movements was frequently regarded as disproportionately severe, which would in turn lead to an increase in anarchist violence throughout the 1890s. ^[29]

Following Cánovas' resignation in December 1892, Práxedes Mateo Sagasta of the Liberal Party was tasked by Queen Regent Maria Christina with forming a new government and holding a snap election. Shortly before the election, Sagasta's government passed several decrees softening the requisites for being eligible to vote in the overseas territories of Cuba and Puerto Rico, as well as a reorganization of the electoral districts in the latter that saw the creation of several multi-member constituencies. ^{[9] [11] [18]}

Results

Congress of Deputies

← Summary of the 5 March 1893 Congress of Deputies election results →

Parties and alliances		Popular vote		Seats
		Votes	%
	Liberal Party (PL)			298
	Liberal Conservative Party (PLC)			67
	Republican Union (UR)			36
	Possibilist Democratic Party (PDP)			18
	Conservative Union (Silvelist) (UC)			17
	Traditionalist Communion (Carlist) (CT)			8
	Integrist Party (PI)			2
	Independents (INDEP)			1
Total				447
Votes cast / turnout
Abstentions
Registered voters
Sources [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35] [36] [37] [38]

Seats PL   66.67% PLC   14.99% UR   8.05% PDP   4.03% UC   3.80% CT   1.79% PI   0.45% INDEP   0.22%

Senate

← Summary of the 19 March 1893 Senate of Spain election results →

Parties and alliances		Seats
	Liberal Party (PL)	119
	Liberal Conservative Party (PLC)	35
	Possibilist Democratic Party (PDP)	6
	Conservative Union (Silvelist) (UC)	4
	Republican Union (UR)	2
	Traditionalist Communion (Carlist) (CT)	2
	Independents (INDEP)	2
	Archbishops (ARCH)	10
Total elective seats		180
Sources [lower-alpha 1] [39] [40] [41] [42] [43] [44]

Seats PL   66.11% PLC   19.44% PDP   3.33% UC   2.22% UR   1.11% CT   1.11% INDEP   1.11% ARCH   5.56%

Distribution by group

Summary of political group distribution in the 6th Restoration Cortes (1893–1896)

Group		Parties and alliances		C	S	Total
	PL		Liberal Party (PL)	275	107	417
			Constitutional Union of Cuba (UCC)	11	9
			Unconditional Spanish Party (PIE)	11	1
			Basque Dynastics (Urquijist) (DV)	1	2
	PLC		Liberal Conservative Party (PLC)	52	30	102
			Constitutional Union of Cuba (UCC)	11	4
			Unconditional Spanish Party (PIE)	4	1
	UR		Progressive Republican Party (PRP)	14	1	38
			Federal Republican Party (PRF)	9	1
			Autonomist Liberal Party (PLA)	7	0
			Centralist Republican Party (PRC)	6	0
	PDP		Possibilist Democratic Party (PDP)	19	6	25
	UC		Conservative Union (Silvelist) (UC)	16	4	21
			Unconditional Spanish Party (PIE)	1	0
	CT		Traditionalist Communion (CT)	8	2	10
	PI		Integrist Party (PI)	2	0	2
	INDEP		Independents (INDEP)	1	2	3
	ARCH		Archbishops (ARCH)	0	10	10
Total				447	180	627

Notes

1. Senate elections in the provinces of Canaries and Lérida and in the overseas territory of Puerto Rico were postponed to 26 March 1893. ^{[1] [2] [3]}
2. Results for PL (100 deputies and 40 senators) and M (8 deputies and 1 senator) in the 1891 election.
3. Results for PLC (285 deputies and 115 senators) and PLR (16 deputies and 8 senators) in the 1891 election.
4. Results for PRP (12 deputies and 0 senators), PRF (5 deputies and 0 senators) and PRC (2 deputies and 0 senators) in the 1891 election.

References

1. "Resultado de la elección de senadores verificada ayer en la provincia de Lérida". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). El Imparcial. 30 March 1893. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
2. "En Canarias". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). El Día. 1 April 1893. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
3. "En Puerto Rico han sido electos senadores". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). La Época. 1 April 1893. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
4. Constitución de la Monarquía Española (PDF) (Constitution) (in Spanish). 30 June 1876. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
5. "El Senado en la historia constitucional española". Senate of Spain (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 December 2016.
6. García Muñoz 2002, pp. 106–107.
7. Carreras de Odriozola & Tafunell Sambola 2005, p. 1077.
8. García Muñoz 2002, p. 107.
9. Roldán de Montaud 1999, p. 275.
10. Ley electoral de los Diputados a Cortes (PDF) (Law) (in Spanish). 28 December 1878. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
11. "Real decreto disponiendo la forma en que se han de verificar las elecciones de Diputados á Cortes en las islas de Cuba y Puerto Rico" (PDF). Gaceta de Madrid (in Spanish) (363). Agencia Estatal Boletín Oficial del Estado: 957–964. 28 December 1892.
12. Ley electoral para Diputados a Cortes (PDF) (Law) (in Spanish). 26 June 1890. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
13. Ley mandando que los distritos para las elecciones de Diputados á Córtes sean los que se expresan en la división adjunta (PDF) (Law) (in Spanish). 1 January 1871. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
14. Ley dividiendo la provincia de Guipúzcoa en distritos para la elección de Diputados a Cortes (PDF) (Law) (in Spanish). 23 June 1885. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
15. Ley dividiendo el distrito electoral de Tarrasa en dos, que se denominarán de Tarrasa y de Sabadell (PDF) (Law) (in Spanish). 18 January 1887. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
16. Ley fijando la división de la provincia de Alava en distritos electorales para Diputados á Cortes (PDF) (Law) (in Spanish). 10 July 1888. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
17. "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) (354). Agencia Estatal Boletín Oficial del Estado: 907–908. 20 December 1890.
18. "Real decreto declarando subsistente la división territorial para elecciones de Diputados á Cortes en las islas de Cuba y Puerto Rico, establecida por Real decreto de 18 de Diciembre de 1890" (PDF). Gaceta de Madrid (in Spanish) (363). Agencia Estatal Boletín Oficial del Estado: 964. 28 December 1892.
19. Ley electoral de Senadores (PDF) (Law) (in Spanish). 8 February 1877. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
20. Ley dictando reglas para la elección de Senadores en las islas de Cuba y Puerto Rico (PDF) (Law) (in Spanish). 9 January 1879. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
21. "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) (184). Agencia Estatal Boletín Oficial del Estado: 23. 3 July 1881.
22. "Real decreto declarando disuelto el Congreso de los Diputados" (PDF). Gaceta de Madrid (in Spanish) (6). Agencia Estatal Boletín Oficial del Estado: 75. 6 January 1893.
23. "Real decreto declarando disuelta la parte electiva del Senado, y mandando que las Cortes se reúnan en Madrid el día 5 de Abril próximo" (PDF). Gaceta de Madrid (in Spanish) (36). Agencia Estatal Boletín Oficial del Estado: 441. 5 February 1893.
24. Martorell Linares 1997, pp. 139–143.
25. Martínez Relanzón 2017, pp. 147–148.
26. De la Santa Cinta, Joaquín (23 August 2017). "Presidentes del Consejo de Ministros durante la Regencia de María Cristina de Habsburgo-Lorena: Vuelve Antonio Cánovas del Castillo". El Correo de Pozuelo (in Spanish). Retrieved 4 May 2023.
27. Maestre Rosa 1973, pp. 208–212.
28. Yeoman 2019, pp. 53–60.
29. Tone 2006, p. 230.
30. López Domínguez 1976, pp. 472–507.
31. Armengol i Segú & Varela Ortega 2001, pp. 655–776.
32. "Las elecciones en provincias". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). La Época. 7 March 1893. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
33. "Los nuevos diputados". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). El Correo Español. 7 March 1893. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
34. "Las elecciones en provincias". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). El Heraldo de Madrid. 7 March 1893. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
35. "Diputados electos". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). La Correspondencia de España. 8 March 1893. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
36. "Diputados probables". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). El Siglo Futuro. 8 March 1893. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
37. "La Iberia". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). El Liberal. 8 March 1893. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
38. "Las elecciones. Diputados proclamados". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). El Día. 10 March 1893. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
39. "Elección de senadores en provincias". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). La Correspondencia de España. 20 March 1893. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
40. "Elección de senadores". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). El Día. 20 March 1893. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
41. "Los nuevos senadores". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). El Imparcial. 20 March 1893. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
42. "Elecciones de senadores". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). El Liberal. 20 March 1893. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
43. "Elección de senadores". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). La Unión Católica. 20 March 1893. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
44. "Elección de senadores". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). El Siglo Futuro. 20 March 1893. Retrieved 18 July 2022.

Bibliography

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