1918 Spanish general election

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1918 Spanish general election
Flag of Spain (1785-1873, 1875-1931).svg
  1916 24 February 1918 (Congress) [a]
10 March 1918 (Senate)
1919  

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
 First partySecond partyThird party
  Eduardo Dato 1911 (cropped).jpg Manuel Garcia Prieto 1900 (cropped).jpg Alvaro de Figueroa, Count of Romanones 1919 (cropped).jpg
Leader Eduardo Dato Marquis of Alhucemas Count of Romanones
Party Conservative Liberal Democratic Romanonist
Leader since191319131912
Leader's seat Vitoria Senator for life Guadalajara
Last election90 (C) ·36 (S)Did not contest228 (C) ·112 (S) [b]
Seats won104 (C) ·48 (S)89 (C) ·41 (S)40 (C) ·23 (S)
Seat change Green Arrow Up Darker.svg 14 (C) · Green Arrow Up Darker.svg 12 (S) Green Arrow Up Darker.svg 89 (C) · Green Arrow Up Darker.svg 41 (S) Red Arrow Down.svg 188 (C) · Red Arrow Down.svg 89 (S)

 Fourth partyFifth partySixth party
  Santiago Alba 1912 (cropped).jpg Melquiades Alvarez (cropped).jpg Antonio Maura 1917 (cropped).jpg
Leader Santiago Alba Melquíades Álvarez Antonio Maura
Party Liberal Left Alliance Maurist
Leader since191719181913
Leader's seat Albuñol Madrid (lost) Palma
Last electionDid not contest34 (C) ·3 (S) [c] 17 (C) ·5 (S)
Seats won33 (C) ·17 (S)34 (C) ·2 (S)27 (C) ·9 (S)
Seat change Green Arrow Up Darker.svg 33 (C) · Green Arrow Up Darker.svg 17 (S) Arrow Blue Right 001.svg 0 (C) · Red Arrow Down.svg 1 (S) Green Arrow Up Darker.svg 10 (C) · Green Arrow Up Darker.svg 4 (S)

Prime Minister before election

Marquis of Alhucemas
Liberal Democratic

Prime Minister after election

Antonio Maura
Maurist

A general election was held in Spain on Sunday, 24 February (for the Congress of Deputies) [a] and on Sunday, 10 March 1918 (for the Senate), to elect the members of the 17th Restoration Cortes. All 409 seats in the Congress of Deputies were up for election, as well as 180 of 360 seats in the Senate.

Contents

The Liberal government of the Count of Romanones took power in the middle of World War I in Europe, having to navigate through Spain's neutrality in the war and its impact on the country's economy. Finance Minister Santiago Alba gained prominence by leading a liberal legislative programme of tax reforms, public investments, improvements in the Public Treasury administration and fighting tax fraud. These reforms were blocked by the obstructionist and filibustering opposition from the Regionalist League under Francesc Cambó which, coupled with a conflict between Anglophiles and Germanophiles, led to Romanones' resignation in April 1917. A brief 53-day government under the Marquis of Alhucemas fell after the Defence Juntas—constituted as military pressure groups against the higher pay and quicker promotion of "Africanists"—refused to disband, with King Alfonso XIII attempting to maintain the turno by giving power back to the Conservatives under Eduardo Dato.

During his second tenure, Dato had to tackle the unravelling Spanish crisis of 1917, seeing off the meetings of the Assembly of Parliamentarians in Barcelona (demanding constitutional reform and an increased role of regions in the power-sharing) and the revolutionary general strike in August, as the social response to the rising cost of living, unequal distribution of incomes and inspired by the Russian Revolution. After less than five months, a new interference by the Defence Juntas caused the downfall of Dato's cabinet. Seeking a solution to the mounting crises after the resignation of three prime ministers in less than a year, the King tasked Alhucemas with forming a government of national unity with Maurists, liberals, and Catalanists—nicknamed the "Horace's monster" (Monstruo de Horacio) due to its heterogeneous composition—and call a snap election.

Joining the warring Conservative factions—Datists, Maurists and Ciervists—the Liberals fragmented into the Alhucemas-led Liberal Democrats, a weakened Romanonist faction and a new splinter by Alba: the Liberal Left. With both dynastic parties in disarray, the resulting parliament was the most fragmented since the approval of the Spanish Constitution of 1876, with neither being able to muster a parliamentary majority. The Republican–Socialist Conjunction merged with Melquíades Álvarez's Reformist Party into the Alliance of the Left, but results were perceived as disappointing (particularly in Madrid, where Álvarez and Alejandro Lerroux both failed to secure their seats). [2] The election would see the formation of the "National Government" (Gobierno Nacional) under Antonio Maura, including all Liberal and Conservative factions, as well as the Regionalist League.

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 . [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]

Overview

Electoral system

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:

Electors were required to not being in active military service; nor 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. [10]

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 1918 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]

SeatsConstituencies
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]

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, 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]

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. [36] The previous Congress and Senate elections were held on 9 April and 23 April 1916, which meant that the legislature's terms would have expired on 9 April and 23 April 1921, 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 10 January 1918, with the dissolution decree setting the election dates for 24 February (for the Congress) and 10 March 1918 (for the Senate) and scheduling for both chambers to reconvene on 18 March. [39]

Results

Congress of Deputies

Summary of the 24 February 1918 Congress of Deputies election results
SpainCongressDiagram1918.svg
Parties and alliancesPopular voteSeats
Votes%A.29Cont.Total
Conservative Party (PC)1490104
Liberal Democratic Party (PLD)187189
Romanonist Liberals (PL)83240
Alliance of the Left (AI)43034
Liberal Left (IL)52833
Maurist Party (PM)42327
Ciervist Conservatives (CC)32124
Regionalist League (LR)02222
Traditionalist Communion (Jaimist) (CT)189
Agrarian Liberal Party (PLA)077
Basque Nationalist Communion (CNV)167
Integrist Party (PI)101
Independents (INDEP)3912
Total62347409
Votes cast / turnout
Abstentions
Registered voters
Sources [a] [40] [41] [42] [43] [44] [45] [46] [47] [48] [49]
Seats
PC
25.43%
PLD
21.76%
PL
9.78%
AI
8.31%
IL
8.07%
PM
6.60%
CC
5.87%
LR
5.38%
CT
2.20%
PLA
1.71%
CNV
1.71%
PI
0.24%
INDEP
2.93%

Senate

Summary of the 10 March 1918 Senate of Spain election results
SpainSenateDiagram1918.svg
Parties and alliancesSeats
Conservative Party (PC)48
Liberal Democratic Party (PLD)41
Romanonist Liberals (PL)23
Liberal Left (IL)17
Maurist Party (PM)9
Regionalist League (LR)8
Ciervist Conservatives (CC)6
Traditionalist Communion (Jaimist) (CT)5
Agrarian Liberal Party (PLA)3
Alliance of the Left (AI)2
Basque Nationalist Communion (CNV)2
Integrist Party (PI)2
Independents (INDEP)5
Archbishops (ARCH)9
Total elective seats180
Sources [50] [51] [52] [53] [54] [55] [56] [57]
Seats
PC
26.67%
PLD
22.78%
PL
12.78%
IL
9.44%
PM
5.00%
LR
4.44%
CC
3.33%
CT
2.78%
PLA
1.67%
AI
1.11%
CNV
1.11%
PI
1.11%
INDEP
2.78%
ARCH
5.00%

Distribution by group

Summary of political group distribution in the 17th Restoration Cortes (1918–1919)
GroupParties and alliancesCSTotal
PC Conservative Party (PC)10448152
PLD Liberal Democratic Party (PLD)8941130
PL Romanonist Liberals (PL)402363
IL Liberal Left (IL)321750
Monarchist Coalition (MON)10
AI Reformist Party (PRef)9036
Independent Republicans (R.IND)61
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE)60
Republican Federation (FR)50
Catalan Republican Party (PRC)40
Radical Republican Party (PRR)21
Autonomist Republican Union Party (PURA)10
Nationalist Republicans (R.NAC)10
PM Maurist Party (PM)24936
Monarchist Coalition (MON)30
CC Ciervist Conservatives (CC)23630
Monarchist Coalition (MON)10
LR Regionalist League (LR)22830
CT Traditionalist Communion (Jaimist) (CT)9514
PLA Agrarian Liberal Party (PLA)7310
CNV Basque Nationalist Communion (CNV)729
PI Integrist Party (PI)123
INDEP Independents (INDEP)5217
Independent Liberals (L.IND)31
Independent Catholics (CAT)21
Basque Dynastics (Urquijist) (DV)11
Independent Regionalists (REG)10
ARCH Archbishops (ARCH)099
Total409180589

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 Candidates elected automatically under Article 29 of the Electoral Law were proclaimed on 17 February 1918. [1]
  2. Results for PLLD in the 1916 election.
  3. Results for PRef (14 deputies and 2 senators), CRS (13 deputies and 1 senator) and PRR–UFNR (7 deputies and 0 senators) in the 1916 election.

References

  1. "Febrero de 1918. Día 17. Elecciones generales. Diputados por el artículo 29". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). El Año Político. 1 January 1919. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
  2. "Las elecciones generales de ayer. Triunfan las derechas en Madrid. Lerroux y Melquíades Álvarez, derrotados". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). El Correo Español. 25 February 1918. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
  3. Calero 1987, p. 275.
  4. Constitution (1876), arts. 18, 22, 32, 41, 44 & 51–54.
  5. Martorell Linares 1997, pp. 139–143.
  6. Martínez Relanzón 2017, pp. 147–148.
  7. Constitution (1876) , arts. 18–19 & 41.
  8. Constitution (1876) , arts. 38, 42 & 45.
  9. "El Senado en la historia constitucional española". Senate of Spain (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  10. 1 2 Law of 8 August (1907) , arts. 1–3.
  11. García Muñoz 2002, pp. 107–108.
  12. Carreras de Odriozola & Tafunell Sambola 2005, p. 1077.
  13. Law of 8 February (1877) , arts. 1–3, 12–13 & 25.
  14. Constitution (1876) , arts. 27–28.
  15. Law of 8 August (1907) , art. 21.
  16. 1 2 Law of 8 August (1907) , add. art. 3, applying Law of 26 June (1890) , trans. prov. 1, applying Law of 28 December (1878) , art. 2, applying Law of 1 January (1871) , art. 1.
  17. Law of 8 August (1907) , art. 29.
  18. Rules modifying constituency boundaries:
  19. Constitution (1876) , art. 20.
  20. Law of 8 February (1877) , arts. 21–22 & 53.
  21. Law of 8 February (1877) , arts. 1 & 30–31.
  22. Law of 8 February (1877) , art. 2.
  23. "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.
  24. Law of 8 February (1877) , art. 1.
  25. Constitution (1876) , arts. 20–21.
  26. Law of 8 February (1877) , arts. 56–59.
  27. Law of 8 August (1907) , arts. 55–58.
  28. Constitution (1876) , arts. 29 & 31.
  29. Law of 8 August (1907) , arts. 4–7.
  30. Law of 7 March (1880) , arts. 1–4.
  31. Law of 31 July (1887).
  32. Law of 8 August (1907) , art. 24.
  33. Constitution (1876) , arts. 22 & 26.
  34. Law of 8 February (1877) , art. 4.
  35. Law of 8 February (1877) , arts. 5–9.
  36. Constitution (1876) , arts. 24 & 30.
  37. Constitution (1876) , art. 32.
  38. Law of 8 February (1877) , art. 11.
  39. Real decreto declarando disueltos el Congreso de los Diputados y la parte electiva del Senado; que las Cortes se reunirán en Madrid el 18 de Marzo próximo, y que las elecciones de Diputados se verificarán en todas las provincias de la Monarquía el día 24 de Febrero, y las de Senadores el 10 de Marzo siguiente (PDF) (Royal Decree). Madrid Gazette (in Spanish). King of Spain. 10 January 1918. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  40. "Los candidatos que luchan". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). El Siglo Futuro. 16 February 1918. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  41. "Los candidatos que luchan (Conclusión)". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). El Siglo Futuro. 18 February 1918. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  42. "Las elecciones generales". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). El Día. 25 February 1918. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  43. "Datos oficiales". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). El Heraldo de Madrid. 25 February 1918. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  44. "Después de las elecciones". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). El Día. 26 February 1918. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  45. "Datos oficiales". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). El Liberal. 26 February 1918. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  46. "Los nuevos diputados". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). La Mañana. 26 February 1918. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  47. "Los candidatos triunfantes". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). La Correspondencia de España. 26 February 1918. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  48. "Las elecciones". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). El Siglo Futuro. 26 February 1918. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  49. "Febrero de 1918. Día 24. Elecciones de Diputados a Cortes". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). El Año Político. 1 January 1919. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
  50. "Elecciones de senadores". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). El Liberal. 11 March 1918. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  51. "Las elecciones de senadores". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). El Correo Español. 11 March 1918. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  52. "Las elecciones de senadores". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). La Nación. 11 March 1918. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  53. "Datos oficiales". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). La Correspondencia de España. 11 March 1918. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  54. "Las elecciones de senadores". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). La Época. 11 March 1918. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  55. "La elección de senadores". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). El Siglo Futuro. 11 March 1918. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  56. "Las elecciones de senadores". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). El Sol. 11 March 1918. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  57. "Marzo de 1918. Día 10. Elección de Senadores". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). El Año Político. 1 January 1919. Retrieved 1 May 2023.

Bibliography