General elections were held in the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

during the second half of 1877.Myron E Weiner & Ergun Özbudun (1987) ''Competitive Elections in Developing Countries'' Duke University Press, p333

Background

General elections A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

had been held earlier in 1877 after a new constitution was promulgated in December 1876.Hasan Kayalı (1995
"Elections and the Electoral Process in the Ottoman Empire, 1876-1919"
''International Journal of Middle East Studies'', Vol. 27, No. 3, pp 265–286 The new Parliament opened on 19 March 1877, with a planned lifetime of three months. With a ten-day extension agreed by Sultan

Abdul Hamid II Abdülhamid or Abdul Hamid II ( ota, عبد الحميد ثانی, Abd ül-Hamid-i Sani; tr, II. Abdülhamid; 21 September 1842 10 February 1918) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 31 August 1876 to 27 April 1909, and the last sultan to ...

, it was dissolved on 28 June. Article 119 of the constitution required a new electoral law to be in place by the time of the second elections. However, although it had been passed by the Chamber of Deputies, it was still under discussion by the Senate, and had not become law, so the election was held in accordance with the previous system. The Provisional Electoral Regulations issued on 29 October 1876 stated that the elected members of the Provincial Administrative Councils would elect MPs. Candidature was limited men above the age of 30 who was competent in Turkish and had full civil rights. Reasons for disqualification included holding dual citizenship, being employed by a foreign government, being bankrupt, employed as a servant or had "notoriety for ill deeds".

Aftermath

The newly elected Parliament first convened on 13 December 1877, but was prorogued by the Sultan on 14 February 1878 under the pretext of the war with Russia. It did not reconvene until 1908.

References

{{Ottoman elections, state=expanded 1877 elections in Asia 1877 elections in Europe Elections in the Ottoman Empire 1877 in the Ottoman Empire