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All 408 seats in the Congress of Deputies and 180 (of 360) seats in the Senate 205 seats needed for a majority in the Congress of Deputies | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A general election was held in Spain on Sunday, 8 March (for the Congress of Deputies) [a] and on Sunday, 22 March 1914 (for the Senate), to elect the members of the 15th Restoration Cortes. All 408 seats in the Congress of Deputies were up for election, as well as 180 of 360 seats in the Senate.
The informal turno system—which had allowed the country's two main parties, the Conservatives and the Liberals, to alternate in power by determining election outcomes in advance through caciquism and electoral fraud—broke down following Antonio Maura's downfall in 1909, as the latter had come to see the Liberal rise to power as the liquidation of the Pact of El Pardo. The government of Prime Minister José Canalejas attempted to enforce a liberal democratic regenerationism to curb the country's problems, seeing the abolition of consumption taxes, the introduction of compulsory military service, laws addressing the social question, the legal groundwork for the establishment of the Commonwealth of Catalonia in order to placate rising Catalan regionalism and the establishment of a Spanish protectorate in Morocco. But his assassination before he could fully realize his agenda (such as fulfilling the separation of church and state or the rebuilding of the turno with the Conservatives) plunged his plans—and his party—into chaos.
King Alfonso XIII entrusted the Count of Romanones with the formation of a new cabinet, but an internal crisis over the leadership of the Liberal Party prompted supporters of the Marquis of Alhucemas to split into the Liberal Democratic Party. As a result, Romanones' government fell in October 1913 after being defeated in a vote of confidence. Maura rejected the King's mandate to continue the turno, leading to the appointment of Eduardo Dato as prime minister instead. This fragmented the Conservative Party into the Maurists (followers of Maura's doctrine), the "suitable ones" (defenders of the turno system) and the Ciervists (who advocated for Conservative unity of action without affiliating themselves with either faction).
The election saw the Conservative bloc winning a majority of seats in both chambers, but internal infighting between the Maurist and Datist factions would leave the government in an unstable minority position. The Liberals ran divided between the supporters of Romanones and the liberal-democratic faction of the Marquis of Alhucemas. The Republican–Socialist Conjunction had been weakened by the departures of both the Reformist Party of Melquíades Álvarez (representing a moderate republicanism) and Alejandro Lerroux's Radical Republican Party.
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 . [3] [4] 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. [5] [6]
The Restoration system had entered a phase of decline following the national trauma from the Spanish–American War (the "1898 disaster") and the absence of politically authoritative figureheads since the deaths of Antonio Cánovas del Castillo (1897) and Práxedes Mateo Sagasta (1903), weakening the internal unity of both dynastic parties and strengthening the position of faction leaders and local caciques as power brokers. [7] [8] Concurrently, the anti-monarchist opposition became increasingly competitive in urban and some rural districts, partly due to the introduction of universal suffrage since 1890, partly due to the progressive weakening of the pro-government electoral apparatus. [9] [10] [11]
The 1909–1910 government crisis had seen both the fall of the Conservative government of Antonio Maura by political pressure from the Liberals under Segismundo Moret, and the latter losing the support of the various factions within his party and being replaced by José Canalejas. [12] [13] As prime minister, Canalejas attempted to enforce his own vision of regenerationism (a "democratic regeneration") to "nationalize" the monarchy and address the country's problems, which at the time included: growing tensions within the armed forces, Church–State relations, the Moroccan and social questions—with an increase in strike action and the emergence of the National Confederation of Labour (CNT), seeing episodes such as the Cullera events—and rising Catalan regionalism. [14] [15] This period saw the implementation of various reforms, such as the abolition of consumption taxes, the introduction compulsory military servicet, or a more appropriate regulation of women's working conditions (the "Law of the Chair" or ley de la silla). [15] [16] [17]
Canalejas' aim to curb the Catholic Church's influence over public education resulted in a temporary rupture of relations with the Holy See, as well as a media campaign accusing Canalejas of fostering anti-clericalism. [18] Discreet negotiations saw the approval of the Padlock Law (ley del candado) in December 1910, which restricted the establishment of new religious orders during the next two years. [15] [19] His government also laid the legal foundations for the creation of commonwealths of provinces with limited powers in an attempt to placate the ambitions of the Regionalist League, paving the way for the Commonwealth of Catalonia in 1914. [14] [18] Canalejas refrained from intervening in the 5 October 1910 revolution that overthrew the Portuguese monarchy, but had to tackle its repercussions during the pro-republican mutiny aboard the ironclad Numancia in August 1911. [18] [20] The successful Kert campaign helped bring about the Spanish protectorate in Morocco, with the signing of the Franco–Spanish Treaty of 1912. [21] [22]
Canalejas also attempted to rebuild the turno system through a conciliatory stance towards the Conservatives. [18] Their leader, Maura, had come to see the Pact of El Pardo as liquidated following his fall from power in 1909, declaring an "implacable hostility" to the Liberals in power—equivalent to the official severance of solidarity ties between the two dynastic parties and a renounce to the power alternation—as long as they did not publicly retract their actions of the previous biennium. [23] [24] [25] In the ensuing years, the Conservatives would divide among those adhering to Maura's political doctrine against the turno (the Maurist faction or mauristas), and those advocating for continuity out of loyalty to the monarchy and a desire not to be excluded from power (who would become known as the idóneos or "suitable ones"). [24] [25]
The assassination of Canalejas in November 1912 put an end to his agenda and plunged his party into chaos. [21] [26] King Alfonso XIII's initial decision to appoint the president of the Congress of Deputies, the Count of Romanones, as prime minister, was met with outrage by Maura—deepening his disaffection with the "failed" turno—as well as by supporters of minister of state under Canalejas, the Marquis of Alhucemas, who also aspired to the Liberal leadership. [27] [28] The Alhucemas–Romanones feud and the leadership crisis within the Liberal Party, coupled with the debate on the Law of Commonwealths, brought about the former's split into the Liberal Democratic Party in the summer of 1913 and the latter's downfall in a Senate vote of confidence on 25 October. [24] [27] [28] [29] Maura's refusal to accept the King's mandate and maintain the turno caused a schism within the Conservative Party between "maurists" and "suitable ones", leading Alfonso XIII to hand over power to the "suitable" Eduardo Dato. [25] [30] [31] A third Conservative faction led by Juan de la Cierva—governance minister under Maura—supported restoring unity of action between idóneos and mauristas, without affiliating itself to either. [32]
Within the republican opposition, the Reformist Party was formed in 1912 by Melquíades Álvarez, Gumersindo de Azcárate and Benito Pérez Galdós, representing a moderate, accidentalist and democratic republicanism. [21] [33] Concurrently, disagreements with Alejandro Lerroux's Radical Republican Party led to its departure from the Republican–Socialist Conjunction. [34]
The Spanish Cortes were envisaged as "co-legislative bodies", based on a nearly perfect bicameral system. [35] 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). [36] [37] Voting for each chamber of the Cortes was on the basis of universal manhood suffrage and censitary suffrage, respectively:
The Congress of Deputies was entitled to one member per each 50,000 inhabitants, distributed among the provinces of Spain. [42] 98 seats were distributed among 28 multi-member constituencies and elected using a partial block voting system: in constituencies electing ten seats or more, electors could vote for no more than four candidates less than the number of seats to be allocated; in those with more than eight seats and up to ten, for no more than three less; 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. [43] The remaining seats—310 for the 1914 election—were allocated to single-member districts and elected using plurality voting. [44] Additionally, in those districts where the number of candidates was equal or less than the number of seats up for election, candidates were to be automatically elected. [45]
As a result of the aforementioned allocation, each Congress multi-member constituency was entitled the following seats: [44] [46]
Seats | Constituencies |
---|---|
8 | Madrid |
7 | Barcelona |
5 | Palma, Seville |
4 | Cartagena |
3 | Alicante, Almería, Badajoz, Burgos, Cádiz, Córdoba, Gran Canaria, Granada, Huelva, Jaén, Jerez de la Frontera, La Coruña, Lugo, Málaga, Murcia, Oviedo, Pamplona, Santander, Tarragona, Tenerife, Valencia, Valladolid, Zaragoza |
For the Senate, 180 seats were elected using an indirect, write-in, two-round majority voting system. [47] [48] 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. [49] 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. [50] [51] 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. [52]
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. [53]
The law provided for by-elections to fill seats vacated in both the Congress and Senate throughout the legislature's term. [54] [55]
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, the judiciary, the prosecution ministry 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. [56] [57] A number of other positions were exempt from ineligibility, provided that no more than 40 deputies benefitted from these: [58] [59]
Additionally, candidates intending to run were required to either have previously served as deputies, elected in a general or by-election; to secure the endorsement of two current or former senators or deputies from the same provinces, or from three current or former provincial deputies representing a territory that, in whole or in part, was included in the constituencies for which they sought election; or to secure the endorsement of at least one twentieth of the electorate in the constituencies for which they sought election. [60]
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: [61] [62]
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. [63]
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. [64] The previous Congress and Senate elections were held on 8 May and 22 May 1910, which meant that the legislature's terms would have expired on 8 May and 22 May 1915, respectively. The monarch had the prerogative to dissolve both chambers at any given time—either jointly or separately—and call a snap election. [65] [66] 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 2 January and 13 February 1914, with the Senate dissolution decree setting the election dates for 8 March (for the Congress) and 22 March 1914 (for the Senate) and scheduling for both chambers to reconvene on 2 April. [67] [68]
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Parties and alliances | Popular vote | Seats | ||||
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Votes | % | A.29 | Cont. | Total | ||
Conservative Party (PC) | 48 | 177 | 225 | |||
Liberal Party (PL) | 22 | 62 | 84 | |||
Liberal Democratic Party (PLD) | 12 | 21 | 33 | |||
Regionalist League (LR) | 1 | 12 | 13 | |||
Reformist Party (PRef) | 3 | 9 | 12 | |||
Republican–Socialist Conjunction (CRS) | 1 | 11 | 12 | |||
Republican Coalition (PRR–UFNR) | 1 | 10 | 11 | |||
Jaimist–Integrist Coalition (CT–PI) | 2 | 6 | 8 | |||
Social Defence Committee (CDS) | 0 | 1 | 1 | |||
Autonomist Republican Union Party (PURA) | 0 | 1 | 1 | |||
Independents (INDEP) | 3 | 5 | 8 | |||
Total | 93 | 315 | 408 | |||
Votes cast / turnout | ||||||
Abstentions | ||||||
Registered voters | ||||||
Sources [a] [69] [70] [71] [72] [73] [74] [75] [76] [77] [78] [79] |
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Parties and alliances | Seats | |
---|---|---|
Conservative Party (PC) | 95 | |
Liberal Party (PL) | 41 | |
Liberal Democratic Party (PLD) | 12 | |
Regionalist League (LR) | 6 | |
Jaimist–Integrist Coalition (CT–PI) | 4 | |
Reformist Party (PRef) | 3 | |
Republican–Socialist Conjunction (CRS) | 2 | |
Republican Coalition (PRR–UFNR) | 1 | |
Social Defence Committee (CDS) | 1 | |
Independents (INDEP) | 6 | |
Archbishops (ARCH) | 9 | |
Total elective seats | 180 | |
Sources [79] [80] [81] [82] [83] [84] [85] [86] [87] [88] |
Group | Parties and alliances | C | S | Total | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
PC | Conservative Party (PC) | 190 | 78 | 320 | ||
Maurist Conservatives (CM) | 25 | 14 | ||||
Ciervist Conservatives (CC) | 9 | 2 | ||||
Monarchist Coalition (MON) | 1 | 0 | ||||
Agrarian League (LA) | 0 | 1 | ||||
PL | Liberal Party (PL) | 83 | 41 | 125 | ||
Monarchist Coalition (MON) | 1 | 0 | ||||
PLD | Liberal Democratic Party (PLD) | 33 | 12 | 45 | ||
LR | Regionalist League (LR) | 13 | 6 | 19 | ||
PRef | Reformist Party (PRef) | 12 | 3 | 15 | ||
CRS | Republican Party (PRep) | 10 | 2 | 14 | ||
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) | 1 | 0 | ||||
Independent Republicans (R.IND) | 1 | 0 | ||||
PRR– UFNR | Republican Nationalist Federal Union (UFNR) | 6 | 1 | 12 | ||
Radical Republican Party (PRR) | 5 | 0 | ||||
CT–PI | Traditionalist Communion (Jaimist) (CT) | 5 | 2 | 12 | ||
Integrist Party (PI) | 3 | 2 | ||||
CDS | Monarchist Coalition (MON) | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
PURA | Autonomist Republican Union Party (PURA) | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
INDEP | Independents (INDEP) | 4 | 3 | 14 | ||
Basque Dynastics (Urquijist) (DV) | 1 | 3 | ||||
Independent Catholics (CAT) | 2 | 0 | ||||
Independent Liberals (L.IND) | 1 | 0 | ||||
ARCH | Archbishops (ARCH) | 0 | 9 | 9 | ||
Total | 408 | 180 | 588 |