A general election was held in Spain on 29 April 1923 (for the Congress of Deputies), and on 13 May 1923 (for the Senate), to elect the members of the 20th under the Spanish Constitution of 1876, during the Restoration period. All 409 seats in the Congress of Deputies were up for election, as well as 180 of 360 seats in the Senate. This election was the last under the Restoration system, as it would collapse shortly thereafter and give way to the dictatorship of Miguel Primo de Rivera.
Amid rising social unrest between trade unionsâÂÂparticularly the anarcho-syndicalist National Confederation of Labour (CNT) and the Carlist, yellow Free Trade Unions ()âÂÂand the Spanish government, the period saw the assassination of Prime Minister Eduardo Dato in March 1921, as well as the widespread use by Spanish authorities of the method of extrajudicial execution, particularly in Barcelona. During this period of turmoil, a number of Conservative-led governments under Manuel Allendesalazar, Antonio Maura and José Sánchez-Guerra succeeded themselves, each lasting for less than a year.
The election was held against the backdrop of the Picasso file and the parliamentary inquiry committee into the political and legal responsibilities resulting from the disaster of Annual in 1921, in which over 10,000 Spanish soldiers were killed. The debate on responsibilities deepened the divisions within the ruling Conservatives and hastened the downfall of Sánchez-Guerra's government. In a return to the system, King Alfonso XIII appointed the Marquis of Alhucemas at the helm of a cabinet formed by the various Liberal factions and the Reformists. A general election was subsequently called, with the Liberal Union securing an overall majority, the first since 1916. Upon its re-opening the parliament resumed its inquiry on the Picasso report.
On 13âÂÂ15 September 1923, Captain General of Catalonia Miguel Primo de Rivera would take advantage of the political crisis and stage a military coup d'état, blaming the parliamentary system for most of the country's problems. With the decisive acquiescence of Alfonso XIIIâÂÂincreasingly displeased with parliamentarism and wary of the Picasso report pointing to his own responsibility in the Rif War failuresâÂÂthe coup would lead to Primo de Rivera replacing Alhucemas as prime minister, the establishment of a military directorate at the helm of the country, the declaration of martial law and the dissolution of the , with the 1876 Constitution being effectively abolished. Primo de Rivera would rule Spain as dictator until his fall in 1930 and the subsequent proclamation of the Second Spanish Republic in 1931.
The previous election had resulted in the third hung parliament in a row, but with a clear advantage of the Conservatives under Prime Minister Eduardo Dato, who were able to retain power. Following the assassination of Dato in March 1921, the political crisis within his party and the Restoration regime deepened, with an increase in attacks from the Carlist, yellow Free Trade Unions () against members of the anarcho-syndicalist National Confederation of Labour (CNT)âÂÂmainly in industrial areas and particularly in BarcelonaâÂÂand in the crackdown by authorities, seeing an extensive use of the (Spanish for "law of escapes", a type of extrajudicial execution system) by the then-civil governor of Barcelona, Severiano MartÃÂnez Anido. A new government was formed under Manuel Allendesalazar, which was immediately forced to manage the political fallout stemming from an anti-political and anti-parliamentarian Córdoba speech by King Alfonso XIII, who criticized the legislative paralysis stemming from political infighting.
The disaster of Annual and the massacre in Mount Arruit in the summer of 1921, a major military defeat in the Rif War in which over 10,000 Spanish soldiers were killed in action, shocked the public opinion and sparked a national crisis that saw the downfall of the Allendesalazar government, its replacement by a national unity government under Antonio Maura (made of conservatives, liberals and the involvement of the Regionalist League) and the start of an investigation into the responsibilities for the defeat (which would come to be known as the "Picasso file"). Maura's cabinet was able to stabilize the country's economy, downplay the Defence Juntas by transforming them into "informative commissions" under the authority of the War ministryâÂÂto be later entirely disestablishedâÂÂand launch a renewed military action in Morocco that saw the reoccupation of the territories lost in 1921. The question of the Annual responsibilities, coupled with the withdrawal of parliamentary support from Conservatives and Liberals, led to the end of Maura's government in March 1922 and its replacement by an exclusively Conservative government led by José Sánchez-Guerra.
The Picasso report was delivered to the Supreme Council of War and Navy in April 1922âÂÂdetailing numerous military mistakes, political corruption in Allendesalazar's government, indications of policial and criminal responsibilities and hinting at the blame of the King himself for (allegedly) instigating the ill-prepared advance that brought about the disasterâÂÂprompting the creation in July of a parliamentary inquiry committee (the "Commission of Responsibilities") that sparked heated parliamentary debates, particularly from the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE). Mounting pressure on the government, which still included a number of ministers who had been in office during the battle of Annual, prompted Sánchez-Guerra to submit his resignation to the King, who, under the turno system, reluctantly appointed Liberal leader Manuel GarcÃÂa Prieto, Marquis of Alhucemas, as new prime minister. Alhucemas's government, intent on implementing an ambitious plan of reforms aimed at democratizing the oligarchic Restoration systemâÂÂincluding an expansion of freedom of religion, limits to the government's power to suspend constitutional rights, democratization of the Senate, agrarian law, reaffirmation of civil power, and a progressive tax reform, among othersâÂÂcalled a general election for the spring of 1923 in order to provide itself with a parliamentary majority.
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. It was compulsory, excepting those over 70, the clergy andâÂÂwithin their territoriesâÂÂtrial judges and public notaries. Additional restrictions excluded those in active duty, 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, 98 were elected in 28 multi-member constituencies using partial block voting: in constituencies electing ten seats or more, voters could choose up to four candidates less than the number of seats at stake; in those with between eight and ten seats, up to three less; 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 311 seats were elected in single-member districts by plurality voting and distributed among the provinces of Spain according to population. Elections in uncontested districts were to be resolved with the automatic election of the sole candidate(s).
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, the judiciary and the prosecution ministry, 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:
Additionally, candidates intending to run were required to either have previously served as deputies; or secure the endorsement of either two current or former lawmakers from the same province, three current or former provincial deputies representing a territory that was wholly or partly included in the constituencies they wanted to contest, or at least one twentieth of the electorate in the constituencies for which they sought election.
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 19 December 1920 for the Congress and on 2 January 1921 for the Senate, which meant that the chambers' terms would have expired on 19 December 1925 and 2 January 1926, 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 6 April 1923, with the corresponding decree setting election day for 29 April (Congress) and 13 May 1923 (Senate) and scheduling for both chambers to reconvene on 23 May.
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