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All 409 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, 9 April (for the Congress of Deputies) [a] and on Sunday, 23 April 1916 (for the Senate), to elect the members of the 16th Restoration Cortes. All 409 seats in the Congress of Deputies were up for election, as well as 180 of 360 seats in the Senate.
The turno system—under which Conservatives and Liberals had alternated in power by determining in advance the outcome of elections through caciquism and electoral fraud—had entered a phase of decline derived from the internal crises of the two dynastic parties, which had turned into a set of factions that made political rotation difficult. The Conservatives had fragmented between those supporting the continuity of the turno (the idóneos or "suitable ones", led by Prime Minister Eduardo Dato) and those following the political doctrine of Antonio Maura (the Maurist faction or mauristas), who had grown disaffected with it. In the Liberal camp, divisions were a result of personal rivalries between the Count of Romanones and the Marquis of Alhucemas.
Dato and Romanones initially agreed to support each other in maintaining the turno and fighting their respective dissidents, helped by a lessening of partisanship in 1914 due to the outbreak of World War I. The conflict saw an expansion of industrial activity as demand for Spanish goods rose among the warring powers—a result of the Dato government proclaiming the country's neutrality in the war—but the inflow of capital caused inflation and a drop in imports, exacerbating poverty in some areas of the country as the shortage of basic commodities led to food riots. Dato's attempt to avoid parliament (which was only in session for seven out of his 25-month tenure) alienated the Maurists, whereas his refusal to establish a free-trade zone in the port of Barcelona enraged Catalan regionalists. With Romanones and Alhucemas agreeing to an united front against the Conservative cabinet in the summer of 1915, Dato found himself isolated, resigning in December that year after being unable to pass a proposed military reform. [2]
Re-appointed as prime minister by King Alfonso XIII, Romanones formed a cabinet with representation from all liberal factions, subsequently calling a general election that saw his government securing an overall majority. This would the last election until 1923 in which a single party or alliance would secure a majority of parliamentary support.
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 Spanish Cortes were envisaged as "co-legislative bodies", based on a nearly perfect bicameral system. [7] 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). [8] [9] 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. [14] 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. [15] The remaining seats—311 for the 1916 election—were allocated to single-member districts and elected using plurality voting. [16] 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. [17]
As a result of the aforementioned allocation, each Congress multi-member constituency was entitled the following seats: [16] [18]
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. [19] [20] 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. [21] 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. [22] [23] 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. [24]
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. [25]
The law provided for by-elections to fill seats vacated in both the Congress and Senate throughout the legislature's term. [26] [27]
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. [28] [29] A number of other positions were exempt from ineligibility, provided that no more than 40 deputies benefitted from these: [30] [31]
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. [32]
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: [33] [34]
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. [35]
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. [36] The previous Congress and Senate elections were held on 8 March and 22 March 1914, which meant that the legislature's terms would have expired on 8 March and 22 March 1919, respectively. The monarch had the prerogative to dissolve both chambers at any given time—either jointly or separately—and call a snap election. [37] [38] 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 16 March 1916, with the dissolution decree setting the election dates for 9 April (for the Congress) and 23 April 1916 (for the Senate) and scheduling for both chambers to reconvene on 10 May. [39]
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Parties and alliances | Popular vote | Seats | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Votes | % | A.29 | Cont. | Total | ||
Liberal Party–Liberal Democrats (PL–LD) | 90 | 138 | 228 | |||
Conservative Party (PC) | 37 | 52 | 89 | |||
Maurist Party (PM) | 5 | 13 | 18 | |||
Reformist Party (PRef) | 4 | 10 | 14 | |||
Republican–Socialist Conjunction (CRS) | 1 | 12 | 13 | |||
Regionalist League (LR) | 1 | 12 | 13 | |||
Traditionalist Communion (Jaimist) (CT) | 2 | 7 | 9 | |||
Republican Coalition (PRR–UFNR) | 2 | 5 | 7 | |||
Ciervist Conservatives (CC) | 1 | 6 | 7 | |||
Integrist Party (PI) | 0 | 2 | 2 | |||
Autonomist Republican Bloc (BRA) | 0 | 1 | 1 | |||
Burgalese Regionalist Party (PRB) | 0 | 1 | 1 | |||
Independents (INDEP) | 2 | 5 | 7 | |||
Total | 145 | 264 | 409 | |||
Votes cast / turnout | ||||||
Abstentions | ||||||
Registered voters | ||||||
Sources [a] [40] [41] [42] [43] [44] [45] [46] |
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Parties and alliances | Seats | |
---|---|---|
Liberal Party–Liberal Democrats (PL–LD) | 112 | |
Conservative Party (PC) | 35 | |
Regionalist League (LR) | 7 | |
Maurist Party (PM) | 6 | |
Reformist Party (PRef) | 2 | |
Ciervist Conservatives (CC) | 2 | |
Republican–Socialist Conjunction (CRS) | 1 | |
Traditionalist Communion (Jaimist) (CT) | 1 | |
Integrist Party (PI) | 1 | |
Independents (INDEP) | 4 | |
Archbishops (ARCH) | 9 | |
Total elective seats | 180 | |
Sources [47] [48] [49] [50] [51] [52] [53] [54] [55] |
Group | Parties and alliances | C | S | Total | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
PL–LD | Liberal Party–Liberal Democrats (PL–LD) | 225 | 112 | 340 | ||
Monarchist Coalition (MON) | 3 | 0 | ||||
PC | Conservative Party (PC) | 88 | 35 | 125 | ||
Monarchist Coalition (MON) | 2 | 0 | ||||
PM | Maurist Party (PM) | 17 | 6 | 23 | ||
LR | Regionalist League (LR) | 13 | 7 | 20 | ||
PRef | Reformist Party (PRef) | 14 | 2 | 16 | ||
CRS | Republican Party (PRep) | 10 | 1 | 14 | ||
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) | 1 | 0 | ||||
Autonomist Republican Union Party (PURA) | 1 | 0 | ||||
Independent Republicans (R.IND) | 1 | 0 | ||||
CT | Traditionalist Communion (Jaimist) (CT) | 9 | 1 | 10 | ||
CC | Ciervist Conservatives (CC) | 7 | 2 | 9 | ||
PRR– UFNR | Radical Republican Party (PRR) | 5 | 0 | 7 | ||
Republican Nationalist Federal Union (UFNR) | 2 | 0 | ||||
PI | Integrist Party (PI) | 2 | 1 | 3 | ||
BRA | Autonomist Republican Bloc (BRA) | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
PRB | Burgalese Regionalist Party (PRB) | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
INDEP | Independents (INDEP) | 3 | 2 | 11 | ||
Basque Dynastics (Urquijist) (DV) | 1 | 2 | ||||
Independent Catholics (CAT) | 2 | 0 | ||||
Independent Liberals (L.IND) | 1 | 0 | ||||
ARCH | Archbishops (ARCH) | 0 | 9 | 9 | ||
Total | 409 | 180 | 589 |