1931 Spanish general election

none 1931 Spanish general election Spain 1931 parliamentary no 1923 Spanish general election 1923 1933 Spanish general election 1933 All 470 seats of the Constituent Cortes 236 70.13% 28 June 1931 170x170px Julián Besteiro Spanish Socialist Workers' Party 9 December 1925 Madrid-capital 115 10px 115 170x170px Alejandro Lerroux Radical Republican Party 1908 Madrid-capital 90 10px 90 170x170px Marcelino Domingo Radical Socialist Republican Party 1929 Tarragona 61 10px 61 170x170px Francesc Macià Republican Left of Catalonia 19 March 1931 Lleida 29 10px 29 170x170px Manuel Azaña Republican Action (Spain) 1930 Valencia-capital 26 10px 26 170x170px Niceto Alcalá-Zamora Liberal Republican Right 1930 Jaén 25 10px 25 Prime Minister Prime Minister after election Niceto Alcalá-Zamora Liberal Republican Right Manuel Azaña Republican Action (Spain) The 1931 Spanish general election for the Constituent Cortes was the first such election held in the Second Republic. It took place in several rounds. Background Background of the Spanish Civil War General Primo de Rivera, who had run a military dictatorship in Spain since 1923, resigned as head of government in January 1930.Preston (2006). p. 36. There was little support for a return to the pre-1923 system, and the monarchy had lost credibility by backing the military government. Dámaso Berenguer was ordered by the king to form a replacement government, but his dictablanda dictatorship failed to provide a viable alternative.Preston (2006). p. 37. In the municipal elections of 12 April 1931, little support was shown for pro-monarchy parties in the major cities. King Alfonso XIII fled the country and the Second Spanish Republic was formed.Beevor (2006). p. 20. The Second Republic was a source of hope to the poorest in Spanish society and a threat to the richest, but had broad support from all segments of society. Niceto Alcalá-Zamora was the first prime minister of the Republic.Thomas (1961). p. 21. The wealthier landowners and the middle class accepted the Republic because of the lack of any suitable alternative.Preston (2006). pp. 38–39. Electoral system An electoral law of May 1931 replaced the previous single-member constituencies with much larger multi-member ones. The Senate was abolished and so the government became unicameral. There would be one seat for every 50,000 people, with a separate seat for any city with more than 100,000 inhabitants.Payne (1993). p. 47. Any electoral list gaining an outright majority of votes in a district would be guaranteed and simultaneously restricted to 80% of the seats. A list winning a plurality of votes but failing to win a majority would receive two thirds of the seats. The remainder would be passed to the second list if it received 20% of the vote. Voters were entitled to vote for as many or as few districts as they liked. The system favoured multi-party coalitions, which could thus win a majority of votes.Payne (1993). p. 48. The election was the first not run by the El Turno Pacífico and encasillado system which assigned seats prior to the election.https://books.google.com/books?id=46N-pNbNG2kC Spain's First Democracy: The Second Republic, 1931-1936 Stanley G. Payne May 24, 1993 Univ of Wisconsin Press 978-0-299-13674-1 Google Books Women were unable to vote in this election, but they could stand for and be elected to office. They achieved the vote in the Constitution of December 1931 and were able to vote for the first time in 1933, before those in France and some other countries.Beevor, Antony: THE BATTLE FOR SPAIN. page 30. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. 2006. Campaign thumb|Alejandro Lerroux's meeting in Burgos The Liberal Republican Right (DLR) was led by Alcalá Zamora and Miguel Maura. Uniquely, it identified as Catholic and did the most to appeal to monarchists and those on the right. However, despite putting up 116 candidates across Spain, it led a poor campaign, which was poorly organised.Payne (1993). p. 49. Led by Alejandro Lerroux, the Radical Republican Party occupied most of the middle ground and was far more successful at winning conservative, moderate support. Such conservatism was at odds with most republicans, who believed greater reforms were necessary to bring about stability. That was the case with the Radical Socialist Party, led by Álvaro de Albornoz and Marcelino Domingo, which promulgated extremist views. "There is nothing to be conserved", Albornoz argued. Manuel Azaña led the Republican Action Party. Azaña was keen to change the political system quickly – he hated the moderation and compromise being argued by Lerroux. The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party stood to the left of the political spectrum, and was kept in line with the coalition by a majority of its leadership, rather than unanimously. A legal revolution was necessary, argued a key figure, Largo Caballero. However, extremists inside and outside of the party loomed as potential competition, and the party's line was thus that the coalition was only a stepping stone to a fully-socialist state. The official instructions were that civil authorities were not to interfere with the vote; but in some areas ad hoc republican patrols were set up, which undoubtedly deterred some conservatives from voting. Some members of councils stood; some provincial governors did the same, but not it their own area of governance.Payne (1993). pp. 47–48. The Republican-Socialist coalition dominated the campaigning; the right, still reeling at the loss of the monarchy, remained disorganised. Only in one area did the right manage to collectivise sufficiently: the Basque Country. Many members of the right switched to republicans, despite having little in common with them: one group in Asturias went under the contradictory name the "Monarchist-Republican Party". Results results by constituency Results breakdown of the 1931 Spanish general election thumb|200px|right|Political leaders voting. From left to right: Niceto Alcalá-Zamora, Pedro Rico, Ángel Galarza, Julián Besteiro, Gregorio Marañón, Francisco Largo Caballero, Manuel Azaña, José Sánchez Guerra, Gonzalo Queipo de Llano, Santiago Alba Bonifaz, Melquíades Álvarez and Miguel Maura Gamazo. The Republic and Socialist coalition won a huge victory and was helped by a public that was more liberally inclined than in 1933 or 1936. The lowest turnout, 56%, was in Ceuta; the highest, 88%, in Palencia. Broadly speaking, turnout was higher in the north than in the south. Overall, turnout was around 70% which was considered high.Payne (1993). p. 50. The Socialists won around 2,000,000 votes; Republicans 1,700,000, Radical Socialists 1,350,000 and the Liberal Republican Right 950,000.Payne notes the difficulty in separating votes between parties because of the wide range of coalitions and other problems. Votes Summary of the 28 June 1931 election results:See both http://www.historiaelectoral.com/e1931.html Elecciones 28 junio 1931 31 August 2011 es and http://www.historiaelectoral.com/e1931v.html Votos por coaliciones 31 August 2011 es. Electoral alliance% voteSeats wonCombined Socialist–Republican Coalition+34.28%193PSOE and the Leftist Coalition+14.56%80Catalan LeftistsIncluded the ERC, ECRS and the Radical Republican Party.9.64%42Galician Republican Party (Partido Republicano Gallego) and allies+3.73%24Spanish Radical Republican Socialist Party (Partido Republicano Radical Socialista Español)+3.53%13Democratic Federal Republican Party (Partido Republicano Democrático Federal) and Federalist independents1.06%7Communist Party0.77%–Socialist Revolution Party (Partido Social Revolucionario)0.57%1Extreme Federal Left Party0.30%2Radical Republican Party (Partido Republicano Radical) and allies+Included the PRR, DLR, and RS.10.59%42Liberal Republican Right (Derecha Liberal Republicana) and allies+4.39%8Liberal Democratic Republican Party (Partido Republicano Liberal Demócrata) and Supporters of the Republic1.05%4Gallician Independents0.78%5Other Republican Independents0.74%2Republican Party of the Center (Partido Republicano de Centro)Only stood in the Balearic Islands.0.56%2Republican Action (Acción Republicana)+0.47%–Republican Catalan Party (Partido Catalanista Republicà)+0.31%1Agrarian Party3.41%17Catholic-Fuerista Coalition3.59%15National Action (Acción Nacional)2.34%7Regionalist League (Lliga Regionalista)+1.97%3Independent Catholics of the Right0.72%–Monarchist Independent0.17%1Monarchist League (Unión Monárquica)0.10%1Basque Nationalist Action (Acción Nacionalista Vasca)0.08%–Other Socialists0.29%–Coalitions marked + also formed part of the Combined Socialist–Republican Coalition in some seats.Totals:100.00%470 Seats 300px|thumb|Distribution of seats. Party divisions at the start of the Cortes, after seats had been awarded between coalitions: AffiliationPartyName in Spanish or CatalanAbbreviationSeats Marxist and/or revolutionary Left Spanish Socialist Workers' PartyPartido Socialista Obrero EspañolPSOE 115 Socialist Union of CataloniaUnió Socialista de CatalunyaUSC 4 Revolutionary Antifascist Left Izquierda Revolucionaria AntifascistaIRA2 Extreme Federal Left Extrema Izquierda FederalEIF2 Leftist Federal independents––2Workers and Peasants' BlocTrotskyist Communists. Stood only in Madrid and Catalonia.Bloc Obrer i Camperol/Bloque Obrero y CampesinoIRA– Communist Party of SpainPartido Comunista de EspañaPCE – Republican Left Radical Socialist Republican PartyPartido Republicano Radical SocialistaPRSS 59 Republican ActionStood only in coalition with other parties.Acción RepublicanaAR26 Democratic Federal Republican PartyPartido Republicano Democrático FederalPRD Fed. 16 The Association of Service to the RepublicAgrupación al Servicio de la RepúblicaASR 13 Radical Socialist Catalan LeftLinked to the PRRSEsquerra Catalana Radical SocialistaECRS2 Republican Independents––6 Nationalist Left Republican Left of CataloniaEsquerra Republicana de CatalunyaERC 29 Federation of Galician RepublicansIncluded ORGA and the Galician Republican Party.Federación Republicana GallegaFRG14 Nationalist Republican PartyPartido Nazonalista RepubricánPNzR 1 Republicans of the Centre and of the Right Radical Republican PartyPartido Republicano RadicalPRR90 Liberal Republican RightDerecha Liberal RepublicanaDLR25 Liberal Democrat Republican Party Partido Republicano Liberal DemócrataPRLD 4 Centre Republican Party Partido Republicano de CentroPRCe2 Supporters of the RepublicApoyo a la RepúblicaAAR2Provincial Republican AssociationAgrupación Republicana ProvincialARP2 Independents of the Centre––4 Regionalists and Nationalists of the Centre and of the Right Basque Nationalist PartyIn coalition with the CT.Partido Nacionalista VascoPNV7 Galician IndependentsFormed the Galicianist Party in December 1931.––5Catalan LeagueLliga CatalanaLR2Catalan Republican PartyFormed in March 1931 from the Catalan Action (Acció Catalana) and Republican Catalan Action (Acció Republicana de Catalunya) parties.Partit Catalanista RepublicàPCR2Agrarian Republican Autonomy PartyPartido Agrario Republicano AutonomistaPARA1 Independents (pro-Statute of Estella)––3 Parties of the RightAgrarian Independents–– 15 National ActionBecame part of CEDA in 1932.Acción Nacional AN 5 Monarchist parties of the Right Traditionalist CommunionIn coalition with the PNV. Comunión Tradicionalista (Carlista) CT 4 Agrarian Catholics Católico Agrarios CA 3 Monarchist Union Unión Monárquica CT 1 Traditional Catholic PartyIn coalition with the CT and PNV. Partido Católico Tradicionalista PCT 1 Liberal Monarchists Monárquico Liberal ML 1 Total:470 References Notes "nb" Citations Sources The Battle for Spain: The Spanish Civil War 1936–1939 Antony Beevor Antony Beevor London Weidenfeld & Nicolson 2006 0-297-84832-1 Payne Stanley G. Stanley G. Payne Spain's first democracy: the Second Republic, 1931-1936 https://books.google.com/books?id=46N-pNbNG2kC 23 August 2011 1993 Univ of Wisconsin Press 978-0-299-13674-1 Preston Paul Paul Preston The coming of the Spanish Civil War: reform, reaction, and revolution in the Second Republic https://books.google.com/books?id=cNxenghVwpgC 9 August 2011 1994 Psychology Press 978-0-415-06354-8 Thomas Hugh The Spanish Civil War Hugh Thomas (writer) 1961 London Eyre and Spottiswoode 1 General Category:1931 in Spain 1931 Category:June 1931 in Europe