A general election was held in Spain on 19 May 1901 (for the Congress of Deputies), and on 2 June 1901 (for the Senate), to elect the members of the 10th under the Spanish Constitution of 1876, during the Restoration period. All 402 seats in the Congress of Deputies were up for election, as well as 180 of 360 seats in the Senate.
Since the Pact of El Pardo, an informal system known as or was operated by the monarchy and the country's two main partiesâÂÂthe Conservatives and the LiberalsâÂÂto determine in advance the outcome of elections by means of electoral fraud, often achieved through the territorial clientelistic networks of local bosses (the ), 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.
Conservative prime minister Francisco Silvela resigned in late 1900 as a result of social, political and ecclesiastical backlash resulting from both a tax reform adopted by finance minister Raimundo Fernández-Villaverde and the conflictive marriage between MarÃÂa de las Mercedes, Princess of Asturias, and Infante Carlos of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. Práxedes Mateo Sagasta formed a new government in March 1901, the so-called "Electra cabinet"âÂÂin reference to the Benito Pérez Galdós's Electra play which caused a public uproar that hastened the fall of the previous cabinet led by Marcelo AzcárragaâÂÂand immediately sought a parliamentary majority for his Liberal Party by triggering a snap election.
The election resulted in a Liberal-dominated parliament that saw new parties such as the regenerationist National Union or the Catalan-based Regionalist League gaining seats for the first time. This would be Sagasta's final electoral contest, as he would resign as prime minister in December 1902 and die on 5 January 1903, aged 77, as a result of bronchopneumonia.
In March 1899, Conservative leader Francisco Silvela formed a regenerationist government that aimed at implementing a program of reforms to address the causes of Spain's decline as a nationâÂÂself-evidenced in the country's defeat in the SpanishâÂÂAmerican War and the subsequent loss of the Spanish colonies in the Caribbean and Pacific. However, Silvela was forced to resign as prime minister and cede power to Marcelo Azcárraga in October 1900, following the political and social backlash resulting from both the tax reform adopted by his finance minister, Raimundo Fernández-VillaverdeâÂÂwhich, while intending to reduce the national debt caused by the war in Cuba, sparked a wave of protests and strikesâÂÂand the conflictive marriage between MarÃÂa de las Mercedes, Princess of Asturias, and Infante Carlos of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, whose father had fought in the Carlist side during the Third Carlist War. Further, the Carlist uprising of October 1900âÂÂan attempted armed insurrection originating in Badalona which spread to other towns in SpainâÂÂhad led to the suspension of constitutional freedoms in a number of provinces for several months. Azcárraga's government fell in March 1901, unable to deal with these issues and amid a wave of anti-clericalism propelled by Benito Pérez Galdós's Electra playâÂÂwhich caused a storm of both outrage and uproarâÂÂ, being replaced by a Liberal government under Práxedes Mateo Sagasta, the so-called "Electra cabinet".
Concurrently, regenerationism saw the rise of movements opposed to the Restoration political system. On the one hand, the establishment of the regenerationist National Union (UN) party by JoaquÃÂn Costa and Santiago Alba. On the other hand, Catalan regionalism was invigorated following Silvela's refusal to meet their demands and a growing disaffection among the Catalan middle and industrial classes, which in turn led to the establishment throughout 1899 of the liberal conservative Catalan National Centre (CNC) and the Regionalist Union (UR). Both parties would merge in April 1901 into the Regionalist League (LR).
Under the 1876 Constitution, the Spanish were conceived as "co-legislative bodies", forming a nearly perfect bicameral system. Both the Congress of Deputies and the Senate exercised legislative, oversight and budgetary functions, sharing almost equal powers, except in budget laws (taxation and public credit)âÂÂwhose first reading corresponded to CongressâÂÂand in impeachment processes against government ministers, where Congress handled indictment and the Senate the trial.
Voting for the Congress of Deputies was based on universal manhood suffrage, comprising all Spanish national males over 25 years of age with full civil rights, provided they had two years of residence in a municipality. Additional restrictions excluded those deprived of political rights or disqualification from public office by a final court ruling, under criminal penalties, legally incapacitated, bankrupt people, debtors of public funds, and homeless.
The Congress of Deputies had one seat per 50,000 inhabitants. Of these, 92 were elected in 26 multi-member constituencies using partial block voting: in constituencies electing eight seats or more, voters could choose up to three candidates less than the number of seats at stake; in those with between four and eight seats, up to two less; and in those with between one and four seats, up to one less. The remaining 310 seats were elected in single-member districts by plurality voting and distributed among the provinces of Spain according to population. Additionally, universities, economic societies of Friends of the Country and officially organized chambers of commerce, industry and agriculture, had one seat per 5,000 registered voters.
As a result of the aforementioned allocation, each Congress multi-member constituency was entitled the following seats:
Voting for the elective part of the Senate was based on censitary suffrage, comprising archbishops and bishops (in the ecclesiastical councils); full academics (in the royal academies); university authorities and professors (in the universities); members with three years of seniority (in the economic societies of Friends of the Country); major taxpayers and Spanish citizens of legal age, resident householders with full political and civil rights (for delegates in the local councils); and provincial deputies.
180 Senate seats were elected using indirect, write-in, two-round majority voting. Delegates chosen by economic societies, local councils and major taxpayersâÂÂtogether with other qualified electorsâÂÂvoted for senators. The provinces of Barcelona, Madrid and Valencia were allocated four seats each, and the rest three each, for a total of 150. The remaining 30 seats were allocated to special institutional districts (one each), including major archdioceses, royal academies, universities and economic societies of Friends of the Country. Another 180 seats consisted of senators in their own right (such as the monarch's offspring and the heir apparent once coming of age, grandees of Spain with sufficient income, certain general officersâÂÂcaptain generals and admiralsâÂÂarchbishops, and the heads of higher courts and state institutions after two years of service), as well as senators for life directly appointed by the monarch.
The law provided for by-elections to fill vacant seats during the legislative term.
For the Congress, secular Spanish citizens of legal age, with full civil rights and the right to vote could run for election. Causes of ineligibility applied to contractors of public works or services within the relevant territory; and to holders of certain government-appointed posts, or provincial deputation members, during their term of office and for one year afterwards. Government ministers and civil servants in the Central Administration were exempt from these causes. Special exemptions from ineligibility were granted to certain individuals, capping at 40 the number of deputies able to benefit from these:
For the Senate, eligibility was limited to Spanish citizens over 35 years of age who were not under criminal prosecution, disfranchisement nor asset seizure, and who either qualified to be senators in their own right or belonged (or had belonged) to certain categories:
Other ineligibility provisions for the Senate also applied to a number of territorial officials within their areas of jurisdiction, during their term of office and for up to three months afterwards; contractors of public works or services; tax collectors and their guarantors; debtors of public funds; deputies; local councillors (except those in Madrid); and provincial deputies within their respective provinces.
The term of each chamber of the âÂÂthe Congress and one-half of the elective part of the SenateâÂÂexpired five years from the date of their previous election, unless they were dissolved earlier. The previous elections were held on 16 April 1899 for the Congress and on 30 April 1899 for the Senate, which meant that the chambers' terms would have expired on 16 and 30 April 1904, respectively.
The monarch had the prerogative to dissolve both chambers at any given timeâÂÂeither jointly or separatelyâÂÂand call a snap election. 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 were officially dissolved on 24 April 1901, with the corresponding decree setting election day for 19 May (Congress) and 2 June 1901 (Senate) and scheduling for both chambers to reconvene on 11 June.
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