1891 Spanish general election

← 1886 1 February 1891 (Congress) 15 February 1891 (Senate) 1893 →
All 446 seats in the Congress of Deputies and 180 (of 360) seats in the Senate 224 seats needed for a majority in the Congress of Deputies
Registered	4,800,000
First party Second party Third party   Leader Antonio Cánovas del Castillo Práxedes Mateo Sagasta Francisco Romero Robledo Party Conservative Liberal Liberal Reformist Leader since 1874 1880 1886 Leader's seat Cieza Logroño Antequera Last election 70 D · 33 S 321 D · 125 S[a] 11 D · 4 S Seats won 284 D · 114 S 100 D · 40 S 17 D · 8 S Seat change 214 D · 81 S 221 D · 85 S 6 D · 4 S   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Emilio Castelar Manuel Ruiz Zorrilla Cristino Martos Party Republican Progressive Martist Leader since 1879 1880 1890 Leader's seat Huesca Barcelona Orgaz Last election 15 D · 6 S[b] 10 D · 1 S Did not contest Seats won 15 D · 1 S 12 D · 0 S 8 D · 1 S Seat change 0 D · 5 S 2 D · 1 S 8 D · 1 S
Prime Minister before election Antonio Cánovas del Castillo Conservative Prime Minister after election Antonio Cánovas del Castillo Conservative

A general election was held in Spain on Sunday, 1 February (for the Congress of Deputies) and on Sunday, 15 February 1891 (for the Senate), to elect the members of the 5th Cortes under the Spanish Constitution of 1876, during the Restoration period. All 442 seats in the Congress of Deputies—plus four special districts—were up for election, as well as 180 of 360 seats in the Senate. Following a 1890 reform of the electoral law that saw a change from the previous censitary suffrage to a universal manhood suffrage, the electorate was extended to about 27.3% of the country's population.^[1]

Since the Pact of El Pardo, an informal system known as turno or turnismo was operated by the monarchy and the country's two main parties—the Conservatives and the Liberals—to determine in advance the outcome of elections by means of electoral fraud, often achieved through the territorial clientelistic networks of local bosses (the caciques), ensuring that both parties would have rotating periods in power. As a result, elections were often neither truly free nor fair, though they could be more competitive in the country's urban centres where caciquism was weaker.

The election saw a large parliamentary majority for the Conservative Party after Antonio Cánovas del Castillo's return to power in July 1890, following the end of the Liberal "turn" of government between 1885 and 1890.

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

The 1885–1890 Liberal government of Práxedes Mateo Sagasta (later to be known as the "Long Government" or "Long Parliament", in reference to it being the only one during the Restoration period to last its full five year-term)^[6] had seen the introduction of many liberalizing reforms: the 1886 abolition of patronage removed the last vestiges of slavery in Cuba; the 1887 Associations Law allowed the establishment of trade unions such as the General Union of Workers (UGT), as well as the celebration of associative congresses and meetings; the 1888 Jury Law favoured freedom of press by ending prior censorship and taking the jurisdiction over crimes such as slander and defamation away from the military; and the 1889 Civil Code which, coupled with the Administrative Procedure Law and the 1888 Administrative Litigation Law (also dubbed in Spanish as Ley Santamaría de Paredes), codified and structured the existing civil and administrative laws.^[7][8][9] Finally, the approval of a new electoral law in 1890 reinstated universal manhood suffrage in Spain, definitely repealing censitary suffrage for all forthcoming elections and extending the political franchise from about 5% of the population to nearly 25%.^[1] Other changes included a simplification of the electoral process as well as the removal of the system allowing deputies to be elected through cumulative voting.^[10][11]

Sagasta was dismissed by Queen Regent Maria Christina—nearly at the end of his five year-mandate—in the context of the "hunch crisis" (Spanish: crisis de la corazonada), referred to as such based on a comment from General Arsenio Martínez Campos claiming to have the "hunch" that the Liberals' days in power were numbered, amid rumours of the opposition threatening to unveil a scandal that could hurt Sagasta's reputation or that of his family.^[12] Under the provisions of the Pact of El Pardo, this paved the way for the next "turn" of government under the Conservatives of Antonio Cánovas del Castillo, who assumed office in July 1890 and started preparations for the general election that was to provide the new government with a parliamentary majority.

Under the 1876 Constitution, the Spanish Cortes were envisaged as "co-legislative bodies", based on a nearly perfect bicameral system.^[13] 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).^[14][15]

Voting for the Congress of Deputies was on the basis of universal manhood suffrage (introduced by the new electoral law of 1890), 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.^{[16][17][18][19]} In Cuba and Puerto Rico, voting was on the basis of censitary suffrage, comprising males of age fulfilling one of the following criteria:^[20][21][22]

• Being taxpayers with a minimum quota of Pts 125 per territorial contribution (paid at least one year in advance) or per industrial or trade subsidy (paid at least two years in advance);
• Having a particular position (full academics in the royal academies; members of ecclesiastical councils, including parish priests; active public employees with a yearly salary of at least Pts 2,000; unemployed and retired public employees; general officers of the Army and Navy exempt from service, and retired military and naval chiefs and officers; reporters, chamber secretaries and court clerks of higher courts; and certified teachers);
• Painters and sculptors awarded in national or international exhibitions;
• Those meeting the two-year residency requirement, provided that an educational or professional capacity could be proven.

Additionally, voters were required to not 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 (including their substitutes or jointly liable parties), nor homeless.^[16][20]

The Congress of Deputies was entitled to one seat per each 50,000 inhabitants. 107 members were elected in 31 multi-member constituencies using a partial block voting system: 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; and in those with more than one seat and up to four, for no more than one less. The remaining 335 seats were elected in single-member districts using plurality voting and distributed among the provinces of Spain and the Spanish West Indies in proportion to their populations.^{[23][24][25][26]} The 1890 electoral reform abolished cumulative voting elections but introduced special districts: 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, which resulted in four additional special districts.^[27]

As a result of the aforementioned allocation, each Congress multi-member constituency was entitled the following seats:^[22][24][28]

Voting for the elective part of the Senate was on the basis of censitary suffrage, which comprised archbishops and bishops (in the ecclesiastical councils); full academics (in the royal academies); rectors, full professors, enrolled doctors, directors of secondary education institutes and heads of special schools in their respective territories (in the universities); members with at least a three-year-old membership (in the economic societies); major taxpayers and Spanish citizens of age, being householders residing in Spain and in full enjoyment of their political and civil rights (for delegates in the local councils); and provincial deputies.^[29]

180 seats in the Senate were elected using an indirect, write-in, two-round majority voting system. 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. The provinces of Álava, Albacete, Ávila, Biscay, Cuenca, Guadalajara, Guipúzcoa, Huelva, Logroño, Matanzas, Palencia, Pinar del Río, Puerto Príncipe, Santa Clara, Santander, Santiago de Cuba, Segovia, Soria, Teruel, Valladolid and Zamora were allocated two seats each, whereas each of the remaining provinces was allocated three seats, for a total of 147.^[30] The remaining 33 were allocated to special districts comprising a number of institutions, electing one seat each: the archdioceses of Burgos, Granada, Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Cuba, 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, Havana, Oviedo, Salamanca, Santiago, Seville, Valencia, Valladolid and Zaragoza; and the economic societies of Madrid, Barcelona, Havana–Puerto Rico, León, Seville and Valencia.^{[31][32][33][34]}

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 and the Supreme Council of War and Navy, after two years of service—as well as senators for life appointed directly by the monarch.^[31]

The law provided for by-elections to fill seats vacated in both the Congress and Senate throughout the legislative term.^[35][36]

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 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.^[37][38] A number of other positions were exempt from ineligibility, provided that no more than 40 deputies benefitted from these:^[39][40]

• Civil, military and judicial positions with a permanent residence in Madrid and a yearly public salary of at least Pts 12,500;
• The holders of a number of positions: the president, prosecutors and chamber presidents of the territorial court of Madrid; the rector and full professors of the Central University of Madrid; inspectors of engineers; and general officers of the Army and Navy based in Madrid.

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:^[41][42]

• Those who had ever served as senators before the promulgation of the 1876 Constitution; and deputies having served in at least three different congresses or eight terms;
• The holders of a number of positions: presidents of the Senate and the Congress; government ministers; bishops; grandees of Spain not eligible as senators in their own right; and presidents and directors of the royal academies;
• Provided an annual income of at least Pts 7,500 from either their own property, salaries from jobs that cannot be lost except for legally proven cause, or from retirement, withdrawal or termination: full academics of the aforementioned corporations on the first half of the seniority scale in their corps; first-class inspectors-general of the corps of civil, mining and forest engineers; and full professors with at least four years of seniority in their category and practice;
• Provided two prior years of service: Army's lieutenant generals and Navy's vice admirals; and other members and prosecutors of the Council of State, the Supreme Court, the Court of Auditors, the Supreme Council of War and Navy, and the dean of the Court of Military Orders;
• Ambassadors after two years of service and plenipotentiaries after four;
• Those with an annual income of Pts 20,000 or were taxpayers with a minimum quota of Pts 4,000 in direct contributions at least two years in advance, provided that they either belonged to the Spanish nobility, had been previously deputies, provincial deputies or mayors in provincial capitals or towns over 20,000 inhabitants.

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 public funds (including their substitutes or jointly liable parties); deputies; local councillors (except those in Madrid); and provincial deputies by their respective provinces.^[43]

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.^[44] The previous elections were held on 4 April 1886 for the Congress and on 25 April 1886 for the Senate, which meant that the chambers' terms would have expired on 4 and 25 April 1891, respectively.

The monarch had the prerogative to dissolve both chambers at any given time—either jointly or separately—and call a snap election.^[45][46] 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 29 December 1890, with the dissolution decree setting election day for 1 February (Congress) and 15 February 1891 (Senate) and scheduling for both chambers to reconvene on 2 March.^[47]

← Summary of the 1 February 1891 Congress of Deputies election results →

Parties and alliances		Popular vote		Seats
		Votes	%
	Liberal Conservative Party (PLC)			284
	Liberal Party (PL)			100
	Liberal Reformist Party (PLR)			17
	Republican Coalition (CR)			15
	Progressive Republican Party (PRP)			12
	Martists (M)			8
	Traditionalist Communion (Carlist) (CT)			4
	Integrist Party (PI)			2
	Independents (INDEP)			4
Total				446
Votes cast / turnout
Abstentions
Registered voters		4,800,000
Sources[48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60]

← Summary of the 15 February 1891 Senate of Spain election results →

Parties and alliances		Seats
	Liberal Conservative Party (PLC)	114
	Liberal Party (PL)	40
	Liberal Reformist Party (PLR)	8
	Republican Coalition (CR)	1
	Martists (M)	1
	Traditionalist Communion (Carlist) (CT)	1
	Integrist Party (PI)	1
	Independents (INDEP)	4
	Archbishops (ARCH)	10
Total elective seats		180
Sources[61][62][63][64][65][66][67]