1901 Spanish general election

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1901 Spanish general election
Flag of Spain (1785-1873, 1875-1931).svg
  1899 19 May 1901 (Congress)
2 June 1901 (Senate) [a]
1903  

All 402 seats in the Congress of Deputies and 180 (of 360) seats in the Senate
202 seats needed for a majority in the Congress of Deputies
 First partySecond partyThird party
  Praxedes Mateo Sagasta (cropped).jpg Francisco Silvela 1905 (cropped).jpg Francisco Pi y Margall 1900 (cropped).jpg
Leader Práxedes Mateo Sagasta Francisco Silvela Francisco Pi y Margall
Party Liberal Conservative Republican
Leader since188018991901
Leader's seat Logroño Piedrahita Barcelona
Last election92 (C) ·47 (S)240 (C) ·103 (S)13 (C) ·1 (S) [b]
Seats won246 (C) ·116 (S)76 (C) ·38 (S)15 (C) ·3 (S)
Seat change Green Arrow Up Darker.svg 154 (C) · Green Arrow Up Darker.svg 69 (S) Red Arrow Down.svg 164 (C) · Red Arrow Down.svg 65 (S) Green Arrow Up Darker.svg 2 (C) · Green Arrow Up Darker.svg 2 (S)

 Fourth partyFifth partySixth party
  German Gamazo 1898 (cropped).jpg Carlos O'Donnell 1903b (cropped).jpg Francisco Romero Robledo 1906 (cropped).jpg
Leader Germán Gamazo Carlos O'Donnell Francisco Romero Robledo
Party Gamacist Tetuanist Liberal Reformist
Leader since189918981898
Leader's seat Medina del Campo Senator (for life) Antequera
Last election32 (C) ·7 (S)11 (C) ·7 (S)3 (C) ·1 (S)
Seats won15 (C) ·3 (S)10 (C) ·7 (S)12 (C) ·2 (S)
Seat change Red Arrow Down.svg 17 (C) · Red Arrow Down.svg 4 (S) Red Arrow Down.svg 1 (C) · Arrow Blue Right 001.svg 0 (S) Green Arrow Up Darker.svg 9 (C) · Green Arrow Up Darker.svg 1 (S)

1901 Spanish general election (Congress of Deputies).svg
Election results by constituency (Congress)

Prime Minister before election

Práxedes Mateo Sagasta
Liberal

Prime Minister after election

Práxedes Mateo Sagasta
Liberal

A general election was held in Spain on Sunday, 19 May (for the Congress of Deputies) and on Sunday, 2 June 1901 (for the Senate), [a] to elect the members of the 10th Restoration Cortes. All 402 seats in the Congress of Deputies were up for election, as well as 180 of 360 seats in the Senate.

Contents

Since the Pact of El Pardo, an informal system known as turno or turnismo was operated by the monarchy and the country's two main parties—the Conservatives and the Liberals—to determine in advance the outcome of elections by means of electoral fraud, often achieved through the territorial clientelistic networks of local bosses (the caciques ), ensuring that both parties would have rotating periods in power. As a result, elections were often neither truly free nor fair, though they could be more competitive in the country's urban centres where caciquism was weaker.

Conservative prime minister Francisco Silvela resigned in late 1900 as a result of social, political and ecclesiastical backlash resulting from both a tax reform adopted by finance minister Raimundo Fernández-Villaverde and the conflictive marriage between María de las Mercedes, Princess of Asturias, and Infante Carlos of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. Práxedes Mateo Sagasta formed a new government in March 1901, the so-called "Electra cabinet"—in reference to the Benito Pérez Galdós's Electra play which caused a public uproar that hastened the fall of the previous cabinet led by Marcelo Azcárraga—and immediately sought a parliamentary majority for his Liberal Party by triggering a snap election.

The election resulted in a Liberal-dominated parliament that saw new parties such as the regenerationist National Union or the Catalan-based Regionalist League gaining seats for the first time. This would be Sagasta's final electoral contest, as he would resign as prime minister in December 1902 and die on 5 January 1903, aged 77, as a result of bronchopneumonia.

Background

Following the Bourbon Restoration in 1874, the Spanish Constitution of 1876 enshrined Spain as a semi-constitutional monarchy , awarding the monarch —under the royal prerogative —the right of legislative initiative together with the bicameral Cortes ; the capacity to veto laws passed by the legislative body; the power to appoint government members (including the prime minister ); the ability to grant or deny parliamentary dissolution , the adjournment of legislative sessions and the signature of royal decrees ; as well as the title of commander-in-chief of the armed forces . [6] [7] The monarch would play a key role in the turno system by appointing and dismissing governments, which would then organize elections to provide themselves with a parliamentary majority. This informal system allowed the two major " dynastic " political parties at the time, the Conservatives and the Liberals —characterized as oligarchic , elite parties with loose structures dominated by internal factions, each led by powerful individuals—to alternate in power by means of electoral fraud ( pucherazo ). This was achieved by assigning candidates to districts before the elections were held ( encasillado ), then arrange their victory through the links between the Ministry of Governance and the territorial clientelistic networks of provincial governors and local bosses (the caciques ), excluding minor parties from the power sharing. [8] [9]

In March 1899, Conservative leader Francisco Silvela formed a regenerationist government that aimed at implementing a program of reforms to address the causes of Spain's decline as a nation—self-evidenced in the country's defeat in the Spanish–American War and the subsequent loss of the Spanish colonies in the Caribbean and Pacific. [10] However, Silvela was forced to resign as prime minister and cede power to Marcelo Azcárraga in October 1900, following the political and social backlash resulting from both the tax reform adopted by his finance minister, Raimundo Fernández-Villaverde—which, while intending to reduce the national debt caused by the war in Cuba, sparked a wave of protests and strikes—and the conflictive marriage between María de las Mercedes, Princess of Asturias, and Infante Carlos of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, whose father had fought in the Carlist side during the Third Carlist War. [11] [12] Further, the Carlist uprising of October 1900—an attempted armed insurrection originating in Badalona which spread to other towns in Spain—had led to the suspension of constitutional freedoms in a number of provinces for several months. [13] [14] Azcárraga's government fell in March 1901, unable to deal with these issues and amid a wave of anti-clericalism propelled by Benito Pérez Galdós's Electra play—which caused a storm of both outrage and uproar—, being replaced by a Liberal government under Práxedes Mateo Sagasta, the so-called "Electra cabinet". [15] [16] [17] [18]

Concurrently, regenerationism saw the rise of movements opposed to the Restoration political system. On the one hand, the establishment of the regenerationist National Union (UN) party by Joaquín Costa and Santiago Alba. [19] On the other hand, Catalan regionalism was invigorated following Silvela's refusal to meet their demands and a growing disaffection among the Catalan middle and industrial classes, which in turn led to the establishment throughout 1899 of the liberal conservative Catalan National Centre (CNC) and the Regionalist Union (UR). Both parties would merge in April 1901 into the Regionalist League (LR).

Overview

Electoral system

The Spanish Cortes were envisaged as "co-legislative bodies", based on a nearly perfect bicameral system. [20] 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, the first reading of which corresponded to Congress, and impeachment processes against government ministers, in which each chamber had separate powers of indictment (Congress) and trial (Senate). [21] [22] Voting for each chamber of the Cortes was on the basis of universal manhood suffrage and censitary suffrage, respectively:

Voters were required to not being sentenced—by a final court ruling—to perpetual disqualification from political rights or public offices, to afflictive penalties not legally rehabilitated at least two years in advance, nor to other criminal penalties that remained unserved at the time of the election; neither being legally incapacitated, bankrupt, insolvent, debtors of public funds, nor homeless. [23]

The Congress of Deputies was entitled to one member per each 50,000 inhabitants, distributed among the provinces of Spain. [27] 92 seats were distributed among 26 multi-member constituencies and elected using a partial block voting system: 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; and in those with more than one seat and up to four, for no more than one less. [28] The remaining seats—310 for the 1901 election—were allocated to single-member districts and elected using plurality voting. [29] 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. [30]

As a result of the aforementioned allocation, each Congress multi-member constituency was entitled the following seats: [29] [31]

SeatsConstituencies
8 Madrid
7 Barcelona
5 Palma, Seville
4 Cartagena (+1)
3 Alicante, Almería, Badajoz, Burgos, Cádiz, Córdoba, Granada, Jaén, Jerez de la Frontera, La Coruña, Lugo, Málaga, Murcia, Oviedo, Pamplona, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Santander, Tarragona, Valencia, Valladolid, Zaragoza

For the Senate, 180 seats were elected using an indirect, write-in, two-round majority voting system. [32] [33] Voters in the economic societies, the local councils and major taxpayers elected delegates—equivalent in number to one per each 50 members (in each economic society) or to one-sixth of the councillors (in each local council), with an initial minimum of one—who, together with other voting-able electors, would in turn vote for senators. [34] The provinces of Barcelona, Madrid and Valencia were allocated four seats each, whereas each of the remaining provinces was allocated three seats, for a total of 150. [35] [36] The remaining 30 were allocated to special districts comprising a number of institutions, electing one seat each—the archdioceses of Burgos, Granada, Santiago de Compostela, Seville, Tarragona, Toledo, Valencia, Valladolid and Zaragoza; the six oldest royal academies (the Royal Spanish; History; Fine Arts of San Fernando; Exact, Physical and Natural Sciences; Moral and Political Sciences and Medicine); the universities of Madrid, Barcelona, Granada, Oviedo, Salamanca, Santiago, Seville, Valencia, Valladolid and Zaragoza; and the economic societies of Friends of the Country from Madrid, Barcelona, León, Seville and Valencia. [37]

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 with an annual income of at least Pts 60,000 (from their own real estate or from rights that enjoy the same legal consideration); captain generals of the Army and admirals of the Navy; the Patriarch of the Indies and archbishops; and the presidents of the Council of State, the Supreme Court, the Court of Auditors, the Supreme Council of War and Navy, after two years of service—as well as senators for life appointed directly by the monarch. [38]

The law provided for by-elections to fill seats vacated in both the Congress and Senate throughout the legislature's term. [39] [40]

Eligibility

For the Congress, Spanish citizens of age, of secular status, in full enjoyment of their civil rights and with the legal capacity to vote could run for election, provided that they were not contractors of public works or services, within the territorial scope of their contracts; nor holders of government-appointed offices and presidents or members of provincial deputations—during their tenure of office and up to one year after their dismissal—in constituencies within the whole or part of their respective area of jurisdiction, except for government ministers and civil servants in the Central Administration. [41] [42] A number of other positions were exempt from ineligibility, provided that no more than 40 deputies benefitted from these: [43] [44]

For the Senate, eligibility was limited to Spanish citizens over 35 years of age and not subject to criminal prosecution, disfranchisement nor asset seizure, provided that they were entitled to be appointed as senators in their own right or belonged or had belonged to one of the following categories: [45] [46]

Other causes of ineligibility for the Senate were imposed on territorial-level officers in government bodies and institutions—during their tenure of office and up to three months after their dismissal—in constituencies within the whole or part of their respective area of jurisdiction; contractors of public works or services; tax collectors and their guarantors; debtors of the State; deputies; local councillors (except those in Madrid); and provincial deputies for their respective provinces. [47]

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. [48] The previous Congress and Senate elections were held on 16 April and 30 April 1899, which meant that the legislature's terms would have expired on 16 April and 30 April 1904, respectively. The monarch had the prerogative to dissolve both chambers at any given time—either jointly or separately—and call a snap election. [49] [50] There was no constitutional requirement for concurrent elections to 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 24 April 1901, with the dissolution decree setting the election dates for 19 May (for the Congress) and 2 June 1901 (for the Senate) and scheduling for both chambers to reconvene on 11 June. [51]

Results

Congress of Deputies

Summary of the 19 May 1901 Congress of Deputies election results
SpainCongressDiagram1901.svg
Parties and alliancesPopular voteSeats
Votes%
Liberal Party (PL)246
Conservative Party (PC)76
Republican Coalition (CR)15
Gamacist Liberals (G)15
Liberal Reformist Party (PLR)12
Tetuanist Conservatives (T)10
National Union (UN)6
Traditionalist Communion (Carlist) (CT)6
Regionalist League (LR)6
Blasquist Republicans (RB)2
Integrist Party (PI)2
Independents (INDEP)6
Total402
Votes cast / turnout
Abstentions
Registered voters
Sources [52] [53] [54] [55] [56] [57] [58] [59] [60]
Seats
PL
61.19%
PC
18.91%
CR
3.73%
G
3.73%
PLR
2.99%
T
2.49%
UN
1.49%
CT
1.49%
LR
1.49%
RB
0.50%
PI
0.50%
INDEP
1.49%

Senate

Summary of the 2 June 1901 Senate of Spain election results
SpainSenateDiagram1901.svg
Parties and alliancesSeats
Liberal Party (PL)116
Conservative Party (PC)38
Tetuanist Conservatives (T)7
Republican Coalition (CR)3
Gamacist Liberals (G)3
Liberal Reformist Party (PLR)2
National Union (UN)1
Independents (INDEP)1
Archbishops (ARCH)9
Total elective seats180
Sources [a] [61] [62] [63] [64] [65] [66]
Seats
PL
64.44%
PC
21.11%
T
3.89%
CR
1.67%
G
1.67%
PLR
1.11%
UN
0.56%
INDEP
0.56%
ARCH
5.00%

Maps

Distribution by group

Summary of political group distribution in the 10th Restoration Cortes (1901–1903)
GroupParties and alliancesCSTotal
PL Liberal Party (PL)245113362
Basque Dynastics (Urquijist) (DV)12
Liberal–Republican Coalition (CLR)01
PC Conservative Party (PC)7638114
CR National Republican Party (PRN)12118
Federal Republican Party (PRF)20
Centralist Republican Party (PRC)11
Liberal–Republican Coalition (CLR)01
G Gamacist Liberals (G)15318
T Tetuanist Conservatives (T)9717
Independents (INDEP)10
PLR Liberal Reformist Party (PLR)12214
UN National Union (UN)607
Liberal–Republican Coalition (CLR)01
CT Traditionalist Communion (Carlist) (CT)606
LR Regionalist League (LR)606
RB Blasquist Republicans (RB)202
PI Integrist Party (PI)202
INDEP Independents (INDEP)517
Independent Catholics (CAT)10
ARCH Archbishops (ARCH)099
Total402180582

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 Senate elections in the province of Valladolid were postponed, first to 28 July 1901, then to 26 October 1902. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
  2. Results for FR (11 deputies and 1 senator) and PRF (2 deputies and 0 senators) in the 1899 election.

References

  1. "Real decreto disponiendo que el domingo 28 del actual se proceda a la elección de tres Senadores por la provincia de Valladolid" (PDF). Madrid Gazette (in Spanish) (115). Agencia Estatal Boletín Oficial del Estado: 260. 17 July 1901.
  2. "Real decreto suspendiendo la elección de tres Senadores por la provincia de Valladolid" (PDF). Gaceta de Madrid (in Spanish) (115). Agencia Estatal Boletín Oficial del Estado: 385. 26 July 1901.
  3. "Real decreto disponiendo que el domingo 26 del actual se proceda a la elección parcial de tres Senadores por la provincia de Valladolid" (PDF). Gaceta de Madrid (in Spanish) (285). Agencia Estatal Boletín Oficial del Estado: 137. 12 October 1902.
  4. "Ecos políticos". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). La Correspondencia de España. 19 October 1902. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  5. "Elección de Senadores en Valladolid". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). El Año Político. 1 January 1903. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  6. Calero 1987, p. 275.
  7. Constitution (1876), arts. 18, 22, 32, 41, 44 & 51–54.
  8. Martorell Linares 1997, pp. 139–143.
  9. Martínez Relanzón 2017, pp. 147–148.
  10. Maestre Rosa 1973, p. 213.
  11. Herráiz García, C. "Silvela y la Vielleuze, Francisco (1845-1905)". MCN Biografías (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  12. De la Santa Cinta, Joaquín (13 September 2017). "Presidentes del Consejo de Ministros durante la Regencia de María Cristina de Habsburgo-Lorena: Francisco Silvela Le Vielleuze, Marcelo Azcárraga Palmero y Práxedes Mateo Sagasta". El Correo de Pozuelo (in Spanish). Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  13. "Real decreto suspendiendo temporalmente las garantías constitucionales en la Península é islas adyacentes" (PDF). Gaceta de Madrid (in Spanish) (306). Agencia Estatal Boletín Oficial del Estado: 421. 2 November 1900.
  14. "Real decreto derogando el de 1.º de Noviembre último, por el cual se suspendieron las garantías constitucionales en la Península" (PDF). Gaceta de Madrid (in Spanish) (69). Agencia Estatal Boletín Oficial del Estado: 1061. 10 March 1901.
  15. Sampedro Escolar 2013, pp. 152–153.
  16. "La Electra de Galdós" (in Spanish). RTVE. 6 February 2020. Retrieved 7 March 2025.
  17. "Anticlericalismo y pederastia" (in Spanish). Cadena SER. 29 October 2023. Retrieved 7 March 2025.
  18. "25 de febrero de 1901: El anticlericalismo provoca la caída del gobierno en pleno; surge el Gabinete Electra" (in Spanish). Cadena SER. 25 February 2025. Retrieved 7 March 2025.
  19. Fernández Sarasola 2009, p. 209.
  20. Constitution (1876) , arts. 18–19 & 41.
  21. Constitution (1876) , arts. 38, 42 & 45.
  22. "El Senado en la historia constitucional española". Senate of Spain (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  23. 1 2 Law of 26 June (1890) , arts. 1–2.
  24. García Muñoz 2002, pp. 106–107.
  25. Carreras de Odriozola & Tafunell Sambola 2005, p. 1077.
  26. Law of 8 February (1877) , arts. 1–3, 12–13 & 25.
  27. Constitution (1876) , arts. 27–28.
  28. Law of 26 June (1890) , art. 22.
  29. 1 2 Law of 26 June (1890) , trans. prov. 1, applying Law of 28 December (1878) , art. 2, applying Law of 1 January (1871) , art. 1.
  30. Law of 26 June (1890) , art. 24.
  31. Rules modifying constituency boundaries:
  32. Constitution (1876) , art. 20.
  33. Law of 8 February (1877) , arts. 21–22 & 53.
  34. Law of 8 February (1877) , arts. 1 & 30–31.
  35. Law of 8 February (1877) , art. 2.
  36. "Real decreto disponiendo el número de Senadores que han de elegir las provincias que se citan" (PDF). Gaceta de Madrid (in Spanish) (76). Agencia Estatal Boletín Oficial del Estado: 1021. 16 March 1899.
  37. Law of 8 February (1877) , art. 1.
  38. Constitution (1876) , arts. 20–21.
  39. Law of 8 February (1877) , arts. 56–59.
  40. Law of 26 June (1890) , arts. 73–76.
  41. Constitution (1876) , arts. 29 & 31.
  42. Law of 26 June (1890) , arts. 3–5.
  43. Law of 7 March (1880) , arts. 1–4.
  44. Law of 31 July (1887).
  45. Constitution (1876) , arts. 22 & 26.
  46. Law of 8 February (1877) , art. 4.
  47. Law of 8 February (1877) , arts. 5–9.
  48. Constitution (1876) , arts. 24 & 30.
  49. Constitution (1876) , art. 32.
  50. Law of 8 February (1877) , art. 11.
  51. Real decreto declarando disueltos el Congreso de los Diputados y la parte electiva del Senado, y disponiendo que las Cortes se reúnan en Madrid el 11 de Junio próximo (PDF) (Royal Decree). Madrid Gazette (in Spanish). Regent of the Kingdom p.p King of Spain. 24 April 1901. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  52. Armengol i Segú & Varela Ortega 2001, pp. 655–776.
  53. "Elecciones generales". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). El Liberal. 21 May 1901. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  54. "Diputados futuros". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). El Día. 21 May 1901. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  55. "Las elecciones". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). El Correo Español. 21 May 1901. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  56. "Futuros diputados". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). El Siglo Futuro. 21 May 1901. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  57. "Las elecciones". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). El Globo. 21 May 1901. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  58. "El futuro Congreso". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). El Liberal. 22 May 1901. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  59. "Las elecciones". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). El Proteccionista. 22 May 1901. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  60. "Mayo de 1901. Día 19. Elecciones de diputados a Cortes". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). El Año Político. 1 January 1902. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  61. "Los nuevos senadores". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). Heraldo de Madrid. 2 June 1901. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  62. "La elección de senadores". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). El Imparcial. 2 June 1901. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  63. "Elección de senadores". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). El Liberal. 3 June 1901. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  64. "Los senadores". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). El Día. 3 June 1901. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  65. "Senadores electos". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). La Correspondencia de España. 3 June 1901. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  66. "Junio de 1901. Día 2. Elecciones de Senadores". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). El Año Político. 1 January 1902. Retrieved 11 October 2022.

Bibliography