1907 Spanish general election

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1907 Spanish general election
← 1905 21 April 1907 (Congress)
5 May 1907 (Senate)[a]		 1910 →
All 404 seats in the Congress of Deputies and 180 (of 360) seats in the Senate
203 seats needed for a majority in the Congress of Deputies
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Antonio Maura Segismundo Moret Nicolás Salmerón
Party Conservative Liberal Republican
Leader since 1905 1906 1903
Leader's seat Palma Albuñol Barcelona
Last election 128 (C) · 53 (S)[b] 226 (C) · 108 (S) 25 (C) · 1 (S)
Seats won 256 (C) · 113 (S) 72 (C) · 25 (S) 20 (C) · 3 (S)
Seat change 128 (C) · 60 (S) 154 (C) · 83 (S) 5 (C) · 2 (S)
  Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party
 
Leader Matías Barrio y Mier Enric Prat de la Riba José Canalejas
Party Carlist Regionalist Democratic
Leader since 1899 1902 1902
Leader's seat Cervera de Pisuerga — Alcoy
Last election 4 (C) · 2 (S) 7 (C) · 2 (S) Did not contest
Seats won 14 (C) · 6 (S) 13 (C) · 5 (S) 7 (C) · 6 (S)
Seat change 10 (C) · 4 (S) 6 (C) · 3 (S) 7 (C) · 6 (S)
Prime Minister before election

Antonio Maura
Conservative

Prime Minister after election

Antonio Maura
Conservative

The 1907 Spanish general election was held on Sunday, 21 April (for the Congress of Deputies) and on Sunday, 5 May 1907 (for the Senate),[a] to elect the 13th Cortes of the Kingdom of Spain in the Restoration period. All 404 seats in the Congress of Deputies were up for election, as well as 180 of 360 seats in the Senate.

Eugenio Montero Ríos had been forced to resign as prime minister in the wake of the ¡Cu-Cut! incident in November 1905. The Liberal Party then entered a period of internal turmoil in which various leaders succeeded themselves in office (namely, Segismundo Moret and José López Domínguez). The strong rivalry between Moret and José Canalejas saw the "slip of paper crisis"—which saw Moret returning to the premiership for a few days—and a transitional government being formed by Antonio Aguilar y Correa, until the Conservartive Party under Antonio Maura was tasked with the formation of a new government and the calling of a general election by King Alfonso XIII.

The election resulted in a large majority for Maura and a huge success for the Catalan Solidarity coalition, formed as a result of the political fallout in Catalonia resulting from the ¡Cu-Cut! incident and the approval of the 1906 Jurisdiction Act.

Overview[edit]

Electoral system[edit]

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.[2][3] 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.[4][5]

For the Congress of Deputies, 98 seats were elected using a partial block voting system in 28 multi-member constituencies, with the remaining 306 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. The law also provided for by-elections to fill seats vacated throughout the legislature.[2][6][7][8]

As a result of the aforementioned allocation, each Congress multi-member constituency was entitled the following seats:[7][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]

Seats Constituencies
8 Madrid
7 Barcelona
5 Palma, Seville
4 Cartagena
3 Alicante, Almería, Badajoz, Burgos, Cádiz, Córdoba, Granada, Huelva, Jaén, Jerez de la Frontera, La Coruña, Las Palmas, Lugo, Málaga, Murcia, Oviedo, Pamplona, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Santander, 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 Barcelona, Madrid and Valencia were allocated four seats each, whereas each of the remaining provinces was allocated three seats, for a total of 150. 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 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, Oviedo, Salamanca, Santiago, Seville, Valencia, Valladolid and Zaragoza; and the economic societies of Friends of the Country from Madrid, Barcelona, 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).[2][17][18]

Election date[edit]

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 10 September and 24 September 1905, which meant that the legislature's terms would have expired on 10 September and 24 September 1910, respectively. The monarch had the prerogative to dissolve both chambers at any given time—either jointly or separately—and call a snap election.[2][7][17] 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 30 March 1907, with the dissolution decree setting the election dates for 21 April (for the Congress) and 5 May 1907 (for the Senate) and scheduling for both chambers to reconvene on 13 May.[19]

Background[edit]

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.[20][21]

Results[edit]

Congress of Deputies[edit]

← Summary of the 21 April 1907 Congress of Deputies election results →
Parties and alliances Popular vote Seats
Votes %
Liberal Conservative Party (PLC) 256
Liberal Party (PL) 72
Republican Union Party (PUR) 20
Traditionalist Communion (Carlist) (CT) 14
Regionalist League (LR) 13
Federal Republican Party (PRF) 9
Monarchist Democratic Party (PDM) 7
Republican Nationalist Centre (CNR) 4
Integrist Party (PI) 3
Anti-Solidarity Republicans (RAS) 2
Independents (INDEP) 4
Total 404
Votes cast / turnout
Abstentions
Registered voters
Sources[22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33]
Seats
PLC
 
 63.37%
PL
 
 17.82%
PUR
 
 4.95%
CT
 
 3.47%
LR
 
 3.22%
PRF
 
 2.23%
PDM
 
 1.73%
CNR
 
 0.99%
PI
 
 0.74%
RAS
 
 0.50%
INDEP
 
 0.99%

Senate[edit]

← Summary of the 5 May 1907 Senate of Spain election results →
Parties and alliances Seats
Liberal Conservative Party (PLC) 113
Liberal Party (PL) 25
Traditionalist Communion (Carlist) (CT) 6
Monarchist Democratic Party (PDM) 6
Regionalist League (LR) 5
Integrist Party (PI) 4
Republican Union Party (PUR) 3
Federal Republican Party (PRF) 3
Anti-Solidarity Republicans (RAS) 1
Independents (INDEP) 5
Archbishops (ARCH) 9
Total elective seats 180
Sources[a][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41]
Seats
PLC
 
 62.78%
PL
 
 13.88%
CT
 
 3.33%
PDM
 
 3.33%
LR
 
 2.78%
PI
 
 2.22%
PUR
 
 1.67%
PRF
 
 1.67%
RAS
 
 0.56%
INDEP
 
 2.78%
ARCH
 
 5.00%

Distribution by group[edit]

Summary of political group distribution in the 13th Restoration Cortes (1907–1910)
Group Parties and alliances C S Total
PLC Liberal Conservative Party (PLC) 254 110 369
Basque Dynastics (Urquijist) (DV) 1 2
Anti-Liberal Catholic Alliance (ACA) 1 1
PL Liberal Party (PL) 72 25 97
PUR Republican Union Party (PUR) 15 1 23
Catalan Solidarity (SC) 5 2
CT Catalan Solidarity (SC) 6 3 20
Anti-Liberal Catholic Alliance (ACA) 5 1
Traditionalist Communion (Carlist) (CT) 3 2
LR Catalan Solidarity (SC) 13 5 18
PDM Monarchist Democratic Party (PDM) 7 6 13
PRF Catalan Solidarity (SC) 9 3 12
PI Integrist Party (PI) 2 1 7
Anti-Liberal Catholic Alliance (ACA) 1 1
Catholic League (LC) 0 1
Catalan Solidarity (SC) 0 1
CNR Catalan Solidarity (SC) 4 0 4
RAS Republican Union Party (PUR) 2 1 3
INDEP Independents (INDEP) 2 4 9
Independent Catholics (CAT) 1 1
Catalan Solidarity (SC) 1 0
ARCH Archbishops (ARCH) 0 9 9
Total 404 180 584

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ a b c The election in the province of Lugo was postponed to 4 August 1907.[1]
  2. ^ Results for PLC (105 deputies and 48 senators), V (16 deputies and 4 senators) and PLR (7 deputies and 1 senator) in the 1905 election.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Acta electoral (1907-08-04). Copia certificada". Senate of Spain (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d Constitución de la Monarquía Española (PDF) (Constitution) (in Spanish). 30 June 1876. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
  3. ^ "El Senado en la historia constitucional española". Senate of Spain (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  4. ^ García Muñoz 2002, pp. 106–107.
  5. ^ Carreras de Odriozola & Tafunell Sambola 2005, p. 1077.
  6. ^ Ley electoral de los Diputados a Cortes (PDF) (Law) (in Spanish). 28 December 1878. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
  7. ^ a b c Ley electoral para Diputados a Cortes (PDF) (Law) (in Spanish). 26 June 1890. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ 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.
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ Leyes aprobando la división electoral de las provincias de León y Vizcaya (PDF) (Law) (in Spanish). 2 August 1895. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
  13. ^ Leyes aprobando la división electoral en las provincias de Sevilla y de Barcelona (PDF) (Law) (in Spanish). 5 July 1898. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  14. ^ Ley mandando que en lo sucesivo sean cuatro los Diputados á Cortes que elegirá la circunscripción electoral de Cartagena (PDF) (Law) (in Spanish). 7 August 1899. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
  15. ^ Ley estableciendo una circunscripción para elegir tres Diputados á cortes, que la constituirán los cuatro partidos judiciales de Ayamonte, Hueva, Moguer y la Palma, con todas las poblaciones que de ellos forman parte (PDF) (Law) (in Spanish). 24 March 1902. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  16. ^ Ley sancionada por S. M. formando un solo distrito electoral para Diputados á Cortes con los de Las Palmas y Guía (PDF) (Law) (in Spanish). 5 April 1904. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  17. ^ a b Ley electoral de Senadores (PDF) (Law) (in Spanish). 8 February 1877. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
  18. ^ "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.
  19. ^ "Real decreto declarando disuelto el Congreso de los Diputados y la parte electiva del Senado, y disponiendo que las Cortes se reúnan en Madrid el día 13 de Mayo próximo" (PDF). Gaceta de Madrid (in Spanish) (90). Agencia Estatal Boletín Oficial del Estado: 1201. 31 March 1907.
  20. ^ Martorell Linares 1997, pp. 139–143.
  21. ^ Martínez Relanzón 2017, pp. 147–148.
  22. ^ Armengol i Segú & Varela Ortega 2001, pp. 655–776.
  23. ^ "La lucha electoral. Los candidatos". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). La Época. 19 April 1907. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
  24. ^ "La lucha electoral". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). El Globo. 20 April 1907. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
  25. ^ "Candidatos triunfantes". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). El Imparcial. 22 April 1907. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
  26. ^ "Los nuevos diputados". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). La Época. 22 April 1907. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
  27. ^ "Las elecciones". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). El Día. 23 April 1907. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
  28. ^ "Los nuevos diputados". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). El Globo. 23 April 1907. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
  29. ^ "Lista de candidatos triunfantes, por clasificación de partidos". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). La Época. 23 April 1907. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
  30. ^ "Los diputados electos". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). El Imparcial. 24 April 1907. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
  31. ^ "El futuro Congreso". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). El Día. 25 April 1907. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
  32. ^ "Elecciones de Diputados". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). La Correspondencia de España. 25 April 1907. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
  33. ^ "Abril de 1907. Día 21. Elecciones de Diputados a Cortes". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). El Año Político. 1 January 1908. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
  34. ^ "Los nuevos senadores". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). El Heraldo de Madrid. 5 May 1907. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
  35. ^ "Elección de senadores". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). El Imparcial. 6 May 1907. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
  36. ^ "Elección de senadores". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). El Correo Español. 6 May 1907. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
  37. ^ "Los electos". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). El País. 6 May 1907. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
  38. ^ "Elecciones de senadores". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). La Correspondencia de Madrid. 6 May 1907. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
  39. ^ "Elecciones de senadores. Los elegidos". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). El Siglo Futuro. 6 May 1907. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
  40. ^ "Los nuevos senadores". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). El Globo. 7 May 1907. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
  41. ^ "Mayo de 1907. Día 5. Elección de Senadores". National Library of Spain (in Spanish). El Año Político. 1 January 1908. Retrieved 26 November 2022.

Bibliography[edit]

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