A general election was held in Spain on 9 April 1916 (for the Congress of Deputies), and on 23 April 1916 (for the Senate), to elect the members of the 16th 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.
The system—under which Conservatives and Liberals had alternated in power by determining in advance the outcome of elections through caciquism and electoral fraud—had entered a phase of decline derived from the internal crises of the two dynastic parties, which had turned into a set of factions that made political rotation difficult. The Conservatives had fragmented between those supporting the continuity of the (the or "suitable ones", led by Prime Minister Eduardo Dato) and those following the political doctrine of Antonio Maura (the Maurist faction or ), who had grown disaffected with it. In the Liberal camp, divisions were a result of personal rivalries between the Count of Romanones and the Marquis of Alhucemas.
Dato and Romanones initially agreed to support each other in maintaining the and fighting their respective dissidents, helped by a lessening of partisanship in 1914 due to the outbreak of World War I. The conflict saw an expansion of industrial activity as demand for Spanish goods rose among the warring powers—a result of the Dato government proclaiming the country's neutrality in the war—but the inflow of capital caused inflation and a drop in imports, exacerbating poverty in some areas of the country as the shortage of basic commodities led to food riots. Dato's attempt to avoid parliament (which was only in session for seven out of his 25-month tenure) alienated the Maurists, whereas his refusal to establish a free-trade zone in the port of Barcelona enraged Catalan regionalists. With Romanones and Alhucemas agreeing to a united front against the Conservative cabinet in the summer of 1915, Dato found himself isolated, resigning in December that year after being unable to pass a proposed military reform.
Re-appointed as prime minister by King Alfonso XIII, Romanones formed a cabinet with representation from all liberal factions, subsequently calling a general election that saw his government securing an overall majority. This would the last election until 1923 in which a single party or alliance would secure a majority of parliamentary support.
Background
Overview 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)—whose first reading corresponded to Congress—and in impeachment processes against government ministers, where Congress handled indictment and the Senate the trial..
Date The term of each chamber of the —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.. The previous elections were held on 8 March 1914 for the Congress and on 22 March 1914 for the Senate, which meant that the chambers' terms would have expired on 8 and 22 March 1919, respectively.
The monarch had the prerogative to dissolve both chambers at any given time—either jointly or separately—and 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 16 March 1916, with the corresponding decree setting election day for 9 April (Congress) and 23 April 1916 (Senate) and scheduling for both chambers to reconvene on 10 May..
Electoral system 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 Spanish municipality and were not enlisted ranks in active duty. It was compulsory, excepting those over 70, the clergy and—within their territories—trial judges and public notaries.. Additional restrictions excluded those deprived of political rights or barred from public office by a final sentence, criminally imprisoned or convicted, legally incapacitated, bankrupt, public debtors, and homeless..
The Congress of Deputies had one seat per 50,000 inhabitants. Of these, those corresponding to larger urban areas were elected in multi-member constituencies using partial block voting: voters in constituencies electing ten seats or more 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 seats were elected in single-member districts by plurality voting and distributed among the provinces of Spain according to population.; . Candidates in uncontested seats were automatically elected..
As a result of the aforementioned allocation, 311 single-member districts were established, and each Congress multi-member constituency (a total of 28, electing 98 seats) was entitled the following seats: ( by , , and ; by , , , , , , , , , and ).
Seats Constituencies 8 Madrid 7 Barcelona 5 Palma, Seville 4 Cartagena 3 Alicante, Almería, Badajoz, Burgos, Cádiz, Córdoba, Gran Canaria, Granada, Huelva, Jaén, Jerez de la Frontera, La Coruña, Lugo, Málaga, Murcia, Oviedo, Pamplona, Santander, Tarragona, Tenerife, Valencia, Valladolid, Zaragoza
Voting for the elective part of the Senate was based on censitary suffrage, comprising Spanish male householders of voting age, residing in a Spanish municipality, with full political and civil rights, who met either of the following:. Being qualified electors (such as archbishops, bishops and cathedral chapter members, in the archdioceses; full academics, in the royal academies; university authorities and professors, in the universities; or provincial deputies); Being elected as delegates (either by members with three years of seniority (in the economic societies of Friends of the Country; or by major taxpayers for direct taxes and local authorities, in the local councils).
180 Senate seats were elected using indirect, two-round majority voting. Delegates chosen by local councils—each of which was assigned an initial minimum of one delegate, with one additional delegate for every six councillors—voted for senators together with provincial deputies. 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, each elected by their own qualified electors or delegates.; ; . Another 180 seats consisted of senators in their own right (such as the monarch's offspring and the heir apparent once coming of age (16), grandees of Spain with an income of Pts 60,000, certain general officers—captain generals and admirals—the Patriarch of the Indies and archbishops, 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.; .
Candidates Nomination rules For the Congress, secular Spanish males of voting age, with full civil rights, could run for election. Causes of ineligibility applied to those excluded from voting or meeting any of the incompatibility rules for deputies, as well as to:; . Public contractors, within their relevant territories; Holders of a number of territorial posts (such as government-appointed positions, not including government ministers and Central Administration employees; local and provincial employees; and provincial deputation members), within their areas of jurisdiction, during their term of office and up to one year afterwards. Servants in the judiciary or the prosecution ministry. Additionally, candidates were required to either have previously served as deputies or be nominated by two current or former senators (or same-province deputies); three current or former provincial deputies (from the same province); or at least one twentieth of the electorate in the constituencies for which they sought election, disallowing electors from nominating more than one candidate (except in multi-member constituencies, which used the same partial block voting system for nominations as for elections)..
For the Senate, eligibility was limited to Spanish males over 35 years of age not under criminal prosecution, disfranchisement nor asset seizure, and who either qualified as senators in their own right or belonged (or had belonged) to certain categories:; . Provided an income of Pts 7,500: the presidents of the Senate and the Congress; deputies serving in three different congresses or eight terms; government ministers; bishops; grandees of Spain not eligible as senators in their own right; and various senior officials after two years of service (such as certain general officers—lieutenant generals and vice admirals—and members of higher courts and state institutions); heads of diplomatic missions abroad (ambassadors after two years, and plenipotentiaries after four); heads and full academics in the royal academies; chief engineers; and full professors with four years of service; Provided an income of Pts 20,000 or being taxpayers with a minimum quota of Pts 4,000 in direct taxes (paid two years in advance): Spanish nobility; and former deputies, provincial deputies or mayors in provincial capitals or towns over 20,000; Having served as senators before the promulgation of the 1876 Constitution. 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 up to three months afterwards; public contractors; tax collectors; and public debtors..
Incompatibility rules barred combining:; ; ( by ). The role of senator with other legislative roles (deputy, senator and local councillor, except those in Madrid; and provincial deputies within their respective provinces); or with any public post not explicitly permitted under Senate eligibility requirements; The role of deputy with any other civil, military or judicial post, with exceptions—and as many as 40 deputies allowed to simultaneously benefit from these—including a number of specific posts based in Madrid, such as any of the aforementioned ones (provided a public salary of Pts 12,500); senior court officials; university authorities and professors; chief engineers; and general officers.
Results Congress of Deputies + ← Summary of the 9 April 1916 Congress of Deputies election results → Parties and alliances Popular vote Seats Votes % Total Liberal Party–Liberal Democrats (PL–LD) 90 138 228 Conservative Party (PC) 37 52 89 Maurist Party (PM) 5 13 18 Reformist Party (PRef) 4 10 14 Republican–Socialist Conjunction (CRS) 1 12 13 Regionalist League (LR) 1 12 13 Traditionalist Communion (Jaimist) (CT) 2 7 9 Republican Coalition (PRR–UFNR) 2 5 7 Ciervist Conservatives (CC) 1 6 7 Integrist Party (PI) 0 2 2 Autonomist Republican Bloc (BRA) 0 1 1 Burgalese Regionalist Party (PRB) 0 1 1 Independents (INDEP) 2 5 7 Total 145 264 409 Votes cast / turnout Abstentions Registered voters Sources
Senate