1869 Spanish general election

none 1869 Spanish general election Spain 1785 parliamentary no 1867 Spanish general election 1867 1871 Spanish general election 1871 All 381 seats in the Constituent Cortes"Cuba" Elections in Cuba were indefinitely postponed due to the outbreak of the Ten Years' War, resulting in the vacancy of the 18 seats allocated to the island.Roldán de Montaud 1999 246Decree of 14 December 1868 add. art.: "In view of the exceptional circumstances in which the island of Cuba finds itself, and the need to allow time for the preparation of the electoral register, the Provisional Government will—by decree—set the time when the election for Deputies to the Constituent Cortes must be held in those provinces. [es no En atención a las circunstancias excepcionales en que se encuentra la isla de Cuba, y a la necesidad de dar tiempo para la formación del censo electoral, el Gobierno Provisional por un decreto fijará la época en que deban verificarse las elecciones para Diputados a Cortes Constituyentes en aquellas provincias.]". 191 3,798,284 2,943,460 (77.5%) 15–18 January 186927–30 January 1869 (Canary Islands)30 May – 1 June 1869 (Puerto Rico) 170x170px Juan Prim Monarchist–Democratic Coalition Madrid 259 8,743,286 65.0% 170x170px Francesc Pi i Margall Republican Barcelona 69 2,987,398 22.2% 170x170px Carlos, Duke of Madrid Carlist — 23 1,090,254 8.1% Prime Minister Prime Minister after election Francisco Serrano Liberal Union (Spain) Francisco Serrano Liberal Union (Spain) A general election was held in Spain from 15 to 18 January 1869 to elect the members of the Constituent Cortes in the Democratic Sexennium period. 363 of 381 seats in the es Cortes no were up for election. In the Canary Islands the election was held from 27 to 30 January, in Puerto Rico it was held from 30 May to 1 June, and in Cuba it was indefinitely postponed."Cuba" The election was the first to be held following the Glorious Revolution in September 1868, which had resulted in the overthrow of the Moderate Party from power and the exile of Queen Isabella II. A provisional government under Francisco Serrano, supported by the Progressive Party, the Liberal Union and elements from the Democratic Party, was formed to organize an election to Constituent es Cortes no, aiming at replacing the Spanish Constitution of 1845 with a new constitution. Background The Glorious Revolution in Spain in September 1868, marking the starting point of the Democratic Sexennium, had led to the overthrow of the Moderate Party's government and the exile of Queen Isabella II, with the revolutionaries aiming for a reform of the Isabelline political system through a constituent assembly elected by universal suffrage.López Domínguez 1976 169–170 With the purpose of organizing this election, the Progressive Party and the Liberal Union formed a provisional government led by Francisco Serrano, Duke of la Torre, running together as part of the Monarchist–Democratic Coalition that aimed for the establishment of a "democratic monarchy".Fontana Villares 2007 347–359 Public enthusiasm after the revolution saw favourable conditions for a relatively free and fair election, with the government not needing to resort to electoral fraud to provide itself with a parliamentary majority.Fernández Almagro 1943 397 As for the Democratic Party, following several assemblies held between October and November 1868, it decided to withdraw its support for the government after concluding that the provisions of the Pact of Ostend had been fulfilled, advocate for the establishment of a federal republic and re-establish itself as the Federal Democratic Republican Party (PRDF). A faction of the party opposed this decision and decided to opt for the "democratic monarchy" proposed by the government, becoming popularly known as the es Cimbrios and joining the government's ticket. One of the factors that most helped the popularization of the PRDF in the country's urban areas would be its opposition to the consumption taxes—established in 19th-century Spain and taxing essential goods—and the es quintas, a system of forced recruitment of young people into the Spanish Army which saw wealthier families being able to "exempt" their offspring from military service by paying a fee (the es redención en metálico or "cash redemption") or by hiring a replacement ("substitution"). Many had hoped these would be abolished with the success of the Revolution and felt betrayed by the government's decision to uphold them.Vilches 2001 90–101Duarte Montserrat 2013 353–354 The Carlist movement only became established as a political party in the Revolution of 1868, having previously preferred military procedures; as a result the Catholic–Monarchist Communion was formed to participate in the election, although still subordinated to the Royal Carlist Armies.Ferrer Dalmau 1941 Overview Under the Pact of Ostend and the Cádiz Manifestos, the Spanish es Cortes no were conceived as a constituent assembly tasked with drafting a new constitution that would replace the legal framework of the Isabelline period.López Domínguez 1976 169–1703 October 1868 Manifiestos de Cádiz https://www.boe.es/datos/pdfs/BOE//1868/277/A00003-00006.pdf es Madrid Gazette 277 0212-1220 3–6 1 April 20265 October 1868 La Junta Revolucionaria de gobierno constituida en la capital de la nación, encomienda al Capitán General del ejercito, D. Francisco de Serrano, Duque de la Torre, la formación de un Gobierno provisional que rija el Estado hasta la reunión de las Cortes Constituyentes https://www.boe.es/datos/pdfs/BOE//1868/279/A00001-00001.pdf es Madrid Gazette 275 0212-1220 1 1 April 2026 Date Election day was held over four voting days: the first was used to elect polling station officials, and the remaining three were devoted to the parliamentary election itself.Decree of 9 November 1868 arts. 28–37, 51–60 & 98. The election to the Constituent es Cortes no was officially called on 6 December 1868, with the corresponding decree setting election day for between 15 and 18 January 1869 in most of the country and from 27 to 30 January in the Canary Islands, scheduling for the chamber to reconvene on 11 February.De la Fuente Monge 2020 93–94Decree of 6 December 1868 arts. 1–4; Decree of 30 December 1868 art. 8. The publication of the election decree for Puerto Rico was delayed until 30 April, setting election day in the island for between 30 May and 1 June.López Domínguez 1976 175 In Cuba, elections were postponed due to the outbreak of the Ten Years' War.Roldán de Montaud 1999 246 Electoral system Voting for the es Cortes no was based on universal manhood suffrage, comprising all Spanish national males over 25 years of age and registered in the census.Decree of 9 November 1868 art. 1.Ortega Álvarez Santaolaya Machetti 1996 81–83Carreras de Odriozola Tafunell Sambola 2005 1076 In the Spanish West Indies, voting was based on censitary suffrage, comprising Spanish males of voting age, with full civil rights, who met either of the following:Decree of 14 December 1868 arts. 7–9.López Domínguez 1976 172 & 175 Being taxpayers with a minimum quota of 50 escudos in property or corporate taxes; Holding specific positions (members of scientific and literary corporations or economic societies of Friends of the Country; doctors and graduates; ordained ministers; active and retired public employees; general officers, awarded painters or sculptors, senior court officials; industrial and commercial managers; certified teachers); Additional restrictions excluded those deprived of political rights or barred from public office by a final sentence, criminally imprisoned or convicted, legally incapacitated, bankrupt, and public debtors.Decree of 9 November 1868 art. 2; Decree of 14 December 1868 art. 10. The Constituent es Cortes no had one seat per 45,000 inhabitants or fraction above 22,500. All were elected in multi-member constituencies corresponding to the provinces of Spain—each assigned a number of seats according to population—using plurality voting. Provinces electing six to ten seats were divided into two sub-provincial constituencies, and those electing above ten into three (with the exception of the Balearics and the Canary Islands, which were divided according to their particular circumstances).Decree of 9 November 1868 arts. 95–98.Ortega Álvarez Santaolaya Machetti 1996 82–83 Cuba and Puerto Rico were allocated 18 and 11 seats, respectively.Decree of 14 December 1868 arts. 1–2. As a result of the aforementioned allocation, each es Cortes no multi-member constituency (a total of 88) was entitled the following seats:Decree of 9 November 1868 art. 97 & attached table; Decree of 14 December 1868 art. 3 & attached table.López Domínguez 1976 186 Seats Constituencies 7 Havana, Madrid 6 Avilés, Barcelona, Castellón, Ciudad Real, Coruña, Huesca, Játiva, Matanzas, Oviedo, Salamanca, Santiago, Zamora 5 Albacete, Alicante, Badajoz, Cuenca, Granada, Guadalajara, Manresa, Motril, Murcia, Pontevedra, Santander, Santiago de Cuba, Seville, Teruel, Valladolid, Vich, Vigo, Zaragoza 4 Alcalá, Alcoy, Almería, Astorga, Ávila, Baeza, Bilbao, Burgos, Cáceres, Cádiz, Calatayud, Castuera, Córdoba, Gerona, Ginzo de Limia, Huelva, Jaén, León, Lérida, Liria, Lorca, Logroño, Lugo, Mayagüez, Mondoñedo, Montilla, Orense, Palencia, Palma, Pamplona, Ronda, San Juan Bautista, San Sebastián, Tarragona, Toledo, Valencia 3 Antequera, Arecibo, Briviesca, Écija, Estella, Huercalovera, Jerez, Málaga, Morón, Ocaña, Olot, Plasencia, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Segovia, Seo de Urgel, Soria, Tortosa 2 Álava, Las Palmas, Mahón The law provided for by-elections to fill vacant seats during the legislative term, as long as this affected at least one third of the seats assigned to a given province.Decree of 9 November 1868 arts. 19–21. Candidates Nomination rules Spanish males with the right to vote could run for election. Causes of ineligibility applied to holders of government-appointed posts within their areas of jurisdiction, except for those serving in the province of Madrid with limited authority. Additionally in the Spanish West Indies, ineligibility extended to those convicted of slave trade crimes, but not to local mayors and deputy mayors.Decree of 9 November 1868 art. 13; Decree of 14 December 1868 arts. 11–12. Incompatibility rules barred representing multiple constituencies simultaneously, as well as combining the role of deputy with any civil, military or overseas post based outside Madrid.Decree of 9 November 1868 arts. 14 & 17; Decree of 14 December 1868 arts. 13 & 16. Results Overall + ← Summary of the 15–18 January 1869"Canary+Puerto Rico" In the Canary Islands, the election was held from 27 to 30 January 1869. In Puerto Rico, it was held from 30 May to 1 June 1869. Constituent Cortes election results → center|400px Parties and alliances Popular vote Seats Votes % Total +/− Monarchist–Democratic Coalition (P–UL–D) 8,743,286 64.97 259 Progressive Party (PP) 4,277,504 31.79 133 Liberal Union (UL) 2,924,925 21.74 96 Democratic Party (PD) 741,505 5.51 27 Others 799,352 5.94 3 Federal Democratic Republican Party (PRDF) 2,987,398 22.20 69 Catholic–Monarchist Communion (CMC) 1,090,254 8.10 23 Moderate Party (PM) 220,111 1.64 1 Independent Conservatives (CON.IND) 5,653 0.04 7 Independent Liberals (L.IND) 3,661 0.03 4 Independents (INDEP) 119,934 0.89 0 Vacant"Cuba" 18 Others 286,550 2.13 0 Total 13,456,847 381 Votes cast / turnout 2,943,460 77.49 Abstentions 853,686 22.51 Registered voters 3,798,284 SourcesDe la Fuente Monge 2020 115–123López Domínguez 1976 187–192 & 705–709Lozano Carles https://www.historiaelectoral.com/e1869.html Elecciones Cortes Constituyentes 15 de enero de 1869 es Historia Electoral.com 14 September 2025 Popular vote #ddd 550px 500px M–D Monarchist–Democratic Coalition 64.97 PRDF Federal Democratic Republican Party 22.20 CMC Traditionalist Communion 8.10 PM Moderate Party (Spain) 1.64 CON.IND Independent Conservative (Spain) 0.04 L.IND Independent Liberal (Spain) 0.03 INDEP Independent politician 0.89 Others #777777 2.13 Seats #ddd 550px 500px M–D Monarchist–Democratic Coalition 67.98 PRDF Federal Democratic Republican Party 18.11 CMC Traditionalist Communion 6.04 CON.IND Independent Conservative (Spain) 1.84 L.IND Independent Liberal (Spain) 1.05 PM Moderate Party (Spain) 0.26 Vacant #000 4.72 By province + Summary of provincial results in the 15–18 January 1869"Canary+Puerto Rico" Constituent Cortes election Province M–D PRDF CMC PM CON.IND L.IND Vacant % S % S % S % S % S % S % S Álava 0.2 − 4.0 − 88.5 2 Albacete 83.7 5 11.5 − 3.1 − Alicante 64.7 6 32.8 3 Almería 85.5 7 11.1 − 1.2 − Ávila 78.5 4 9.2 − 3.7 − 1.0 − Badajoz 73.5 8 20.7 1 1.6 − Balearics 67.1 6 24.5 − 4.7 − Barcelona 39.8 7 44.0 8 14.3 1 Biscay 16.5 − 1.0 − 82.5 4 Burgos 71.4 6 1.8 − 4.3 − 18.8 1 Cáceres 67.6 7 28.2 − 0.3 − Cádiz 36.6 − 60.7 9 Canaries 84.0 5 13.4 − Castellón 56.6 6 26.0 − 14.7 − 1.4 − Ciudad Real 68.8 5 16.3 − 9.1 1 3.2 − Córdoba 74.5 8 19.5 − 1.4 − 0.3 − Cuenca 75.0 5 1.2 − 8.1 − 12.3 − Gerona 29.2 1 42.9 4 27.8 2 Granada 73.5 8 17.3 2 6.0 − 1.0 − Guadalajara 68.8 4 8.1 1 14.6 − 6.9 − Guipúzcoa 32.6 − 67.2 4 Havana 7 Huelva 66.5 3 32.5 1 0.4 − Huesca 50.8 1 48.3 5 Jaén 74.9 8 20.7 − La Coruña 85.9 12 5.6 − 1.2 − 0.1 − León 74.1 7 9.4 1 1.6 − 6.9 − Lérida 25.5 − 61.6 7 9.5 − 3.2 − Logroño 82.1 4 13.1 − 0.4 − Lugo 95.7 10 2.1 − 0.1 − Madrid 68.5 11 22.8 − 2.2 − 1.4 − Málaga 64.7 8 33.6 2 0.0 − Matanzas 6 Murcia 72.6 7 25.5 2 Navarre 24.2 1 0.6 − 74.5 6 Orense 77.6 7 19.2 1 0.7 − Oviedo 61.8 10 7.8 − 22.1 2 3.9 − Palencia 64.6 3 13.6 1 20.4 − Pontevedra 94.4 10 4.9 − Puerto Rico 57.4 7 37.2 4 Salamanca 48.5 4 25.2 1 21.2 1 Santander 72.2 5 10.8 − 12.1 − 1.6 − Santiago de Cuba 5 Segovia 78.1 3 0.7 − 17.3 − Seville 45.4 2 53.4 9 Soria 67.2 3 2.9 − 27.5 − Tarragona 52.5 5 44.0 2 2.0 − Teruel 62.7 5 36.6 − Toledo 77.3 6 14.3 1 0.7 − 3.7 − Valencia 59.8 10 30.0 4 8.3 − 1.1 − Valladolid 66.5 5 18.4 − 9.4 − Zamora 86.8 6 1.9 − 5.8 − Zaragoza 50.8 5 42.9 4 1.7 − Total 65.0 259 22.2 69 8.1 23 1.6 1 0.0 7 0.0 4 18 Notes References Bibliography Legislation y Decreto sobre el ejercicio del sufragio universal Decree 9 November 1868 Madrid Gazette es https://www.boe.es/datos/pdfs/BOE//1868/315/A00001-00012.pdf 14 September 2025 Decree of 9 November 1868 y Decreto convocando Cortes Constituyentes y señalando los días en que se ha de proceder a la elección de los Diputados para las mismas Decree 6 December 1868 Madrid Gazette es https://www.boe.es/datos/pdfs/BOE//1868/342/A00001-00002.pdf 14 September 2025 Decree of 6 December 1868 y Decreto electoral para Diputados a Cortes Constituyentes en las provincias de Cuba y Puerto Rico Decree 14 December 1868 Madrid Gazette es https://www.boe.es/datos/pdfs/BOE//1869/020/A00001-00001.pdf 14 September 2025 Decree of 14 December 1868 y Decreto dictando varias reglas para el ejercicio del sufragio universal Decree 30 December 1868 Madrid Gazette es https://www.boe.es/datos/pdfs/BOE//1868/365/A00001-00001.pdf 14 September 2025 Decree of 30 December 1868 Other 30em Ferrer Dalmau Melchor 1941 Historia del Tradicionalismo Español https://books.google.com/books?id=AwQqAQAAMAAJ es 23 1 Seville Editorial Católica Española Fernández Almagro Melchor 1943 Las Cortes del siglo XIX y la práctica electoral https://www.cepc.gob.es/sites/default/files/2022-01/6973rep009-010430.pdf Madrid Centre for Political and Constitutional Studies es Revista de Estudios Políticos 9–10 383–419 0048-7694 16 December 2020 Martínez Cuadrado Miguel 1963 La elección general para Cortes Constituyentes de 1869 https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=2047539 es Revista de Estudios Políticos 132 65–102 0048-7694 15 September 2025 López Domínguez José María 1976 Elecciones y partidos políticos de Puerto Rico: 1809-1898 https://eprints.ucm.es/id/eprint/54455/1/5327102689.pdf es Puerto Rico Complutense University of Madrid 1 11 September 2022 Ortega Álvarez Luis Santaolaya Machetti Pablo 1996 Evolución histórica del sistema electoral español https://revista.cortesgenerales.es/rcg/article/view/784 es Cortes Generales Revista de las Cortes Generales 37 0213-0130 10.33426/rcg/1996/37/784 65–107 free Roldán de Montaud Inés 1999 Política y elecciones en Cuba durante la restauración http://digital.csic.es/bitstream/10261/8781/1/POL%C3%8DTICA%20Y%20ELECCIONES%20EN%20CUBA%20DURANTE.pdf es Revista de Estudios Políticos 104 245–287 19 December 2020 Vilches Jorge 2001 Progreso y libertad: el Partido Progresista en la revolución liberal española es Madrid Alianza Editorial 8420667684 Carreras de Odriozola Albert Tafunell Sambola Xavier 2005 1989 Estadísticas históricas de España, siglos XIX-XX http://www.fbbva.es/TLFU/dat/autores.pdf es 1 Bilbao Fundación BBVA 1072–1097 II 84-96515-00-1 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20150924010950/http://www.fbbva.es/TLFU/dat/autores.pdf 24 September 2015 dmy-all Fontana Josep Villares Ramón 2007 Historia de España La época del liberalismo es 6 Barcelona Crítica/Marcial Pons 9788498928075 Duarte Montserrat Ángel 2013 El republicanismo. Una pasión política es Madrid Ediciones Cátedra 9788437631325 De la Fuente Monge Gregorio 2020 Las elecciones democráticas a Cortes Constituyentes de 1869 https://revistas.unav.edu/index.php/myc/article/view/39698/34453 Madrid es University of Navarre Memoria y Civilización 23 10.15581/001.23.008 87–125 10171/61284 free Category:1869 elections in Spain Category:1869 in Spain 1869 Category:January 1869 in Europe