1896 Spanish General Election

The 1896 Spanish general election was held on Sunday, 12 April (for the Congress of Deputies) and on Sunday, 26 April 1896 (for the Senate), to elect the 7th Cortes of the Kingdom of Spain in the Restoration period. All 445 seats in the Congress of Deputies (plus two special districts) were up for election, as well as 180 of 360 seats in the Senate.

The previous Liberal government of Práxedes Mateo Sagasta had resigned in March 1895, following the outbreak of revolution in Cuba and a period dominated by social conflict and war in Morocco. Antonio Cánovas del Castillo of the Conservative Party was tasked to form a new government, but the general election was delayed by over a year until their feasibility in Cuba could be ensured. The election resulted in a large majority for the Conservatives amidst the boycott of most pro-republican parties.

This would be the last election to be contested by Cánovas, as he would be assassinated while in office in August 1897 by an Anarchism in Spain, anarchist, Michele Angiolillo.

Overview

Electoral system

The Spanish Cortes Generales, Cortes were envisaged as "co-legislative bodies", based on a nearly Equal bicameralism, 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. 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. In Captaincy General of Cuba, Cuba and Captaincy General of Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico voting was on the basis of censitary suffrage, with a minimum taxpayer quota—of Peso, $5 in Cuba and $10 in Puerto Rico—per territorial contribution or per industrial or trade subsidy (paid at the time of registering for voting), having a particular position (royal academy numerary members; ecclesiastic individuals; active, unemployed or retired public employees; military personnel; widely recognized painters and sculptors; public teachers; etc.), or having at least a two-year residency in a municipality, provided that an educational or professional capacity could be proven.

For the Congress of Deputies, 116 seats were elected using a Plurality-at-large voting, partial block voting system in 34 multi-member constituencies, with the remaining 329 being elected under a one-round First-past-the-post voting, first-past-the-post system in single-member districts. Candidates winning a Plurality voting, 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 List of universities in Spain, universities, Sociedad Económica de los Amigos del País, economic societies of Friends of the Country and officially organized Chamber of commerce, chambers of commerce, industry and agriculture were entitled to one seat per each 5,000 registered voters that they comprised, which resulted in two additional special districts for the 1896 election. The law also provided for by-elections to fill seats vacated throughout the legislature.

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

For the Senate, 180 seats were Indirect election, 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 candidate, write-in, Two-round system, two-round majority voting system. The provinces of Álava, Province of Albacete, Albacete, Province of Ávila, Ávila, Biscay, Province of Cuenca, Cuenca, Province of Guadalajara, Guadalajara, Guipúzcoa, Province of Huelva, Huelva, La Rioja (Spain), Logroño, Matanzas Province, Matanzas, Province of Palencia, Palencia, Pinar del Río Province, Pinar del Río, Camagüey Province, Puerto Príncipe, Santa Clara Province, Santa Clara, Province of Santander, Santander, Oriente Province, Santiago de Cuba, Province of Segovia, Segovia, Province of Soria, Soria, Province of Teruel, Teruel, Province of Valladolid, Valladolid and Province of Zamora, Zamora were allocated two seats each, whereas each of the remaining provinces was allocated three seats, for a total of 147. The remaining 33 were allocated to special districts comprising a number of institutions, electing one seat each—the List of Catholic dioceses in Spain, archdioceses of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Burgos, Burgos, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Granada, Granada, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santiago de Cuba, Santiago de Cuba, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Seville, Seville, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tarragona, Tarragona, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toledo, Toledo, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Valencia in Spain, Valencia, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Valladolid, Valladolid and Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Zaragoza, Zaragoza; the Royal Spanish Academy; the royal academies of Real Academia de la Historia, History, Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, Fine Arts of San Fernando, Spanish Royal Academy of Sciences, Exact and Natural Sciences, Real Academia de Ciencias Morales y Políticas, Moral and Political Sciences and Spanish Royal Academy of Sciences, Medicine; the universities of Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, University of Granada, Granada, University of Havana, Havana, University of Oviedo, Oviedo, University of Salamanca, Salamanca, University of Santiago de Compostela, Santiago, University of Seville, Seville, University of Valencia, Valencia, University of Valladolid, Valladolid and University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza; and the economic societies of Friends of the Country from Madrid, Barcelona, Sociedad Económica de los Amigos del País de la Habana, Havana–Sociedad Económica de Amigos del País en Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico, León, Spain, León, Seville and Valencia. An additional 180 seats comprised senators in their own right—the Monarchy of Spain, Monarch's offspring and the heir apparent once coming of age; List of current Grandees of Spain, Grandees of Spain of the first class; Captain general (Spain), Captain Generals of the Army and the Spanish Navy, Navy Admiral; the Patriarchate of the West Indies, Patriarch of the Indies and archbishops; and the presidents of the Spanish Council of State, Council of State, the Supreme Court of Spain, Supreme Court, the Court of Auditors (Spain), 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).

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. The 1893 Spanish general election, previous Congress and Senate elections were held on 5 and 19 March 1893, which meant that the legislature's terms would have expired on 5 and 19 March 1898, respectively. The monarch had the prerogative to dissolve both chambers at any given time—either jointly or separately—and call a snap election. 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 28 February 1896, with the dissolution decree setting the election dates for 12 April (for the Congress) and 26 April 1893 (for the Senate) and scheduling for both chambers to reconvene on 11 May.

Background

The 1892–1895 period of Liberal government under Práxedes Mateo Sagasta had been dominated by the situation in Cuba and Puerto Rico—with attempts from Ministry of Overseas (Spain), Overseas minister Antonio Maura to grant limited autonomy to the islands failing to materialize—as well as the First Melillan campaign against the Sultanate of Morocco and the persistence of social conflict (with notable incidents such as an attempted 1893 attack on Captain General of Catalonia, Catalonia Captain General Arsenio Martínez-Campos leading to the approval of a Law of repression of Anarchism in Spain, anarchism in 1894). This period also saw the ''Gamazada'', a popular uproar in Navarre to a plan by Ministry of Finance (Spain), finance minister Germán Gamazo to suppress the ''Fuero#Basque and Pyrenean fueros, fueros''—established in the Fuero#Echoes of the fueros after suppression in Spain, Compromise Act of 1841—that was thwarted by Gamazo's resignation in 1894.

The outbreak of revolution in Cuba in February 1895 and the subsequent ''Tenientada''—the assault and looting of two Madrid newspapers (''El Resumen'' and ''El Globo'') by groups of civilians and military personnel who were upset about published opinions on an alleged reluctancy from military officers to embark to Cuba—caused the downfall of Sagasta's cabinet. In March 1895, Antonio Cánovas del Castillo of the Conservative Party was entrusted with the formation of a new government, but electoral preparations were delayed until newly-appointed List of colonial governors of Cuba, Cuba governor Valeriano Weyler could ensure the feasibility of holding elections in the colony.

Results

Congress of Deputies

Senate

Distribution by group

Notes

References

Bibliography

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{{Spanish elections

1896 elections in Spain
1896 in Spain
General elections in Spain, 1896
April 1896 events