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15–18 January 1869
27–30 January 1869 (Canary Islands) 30 May – 1 June 1869 (Puerto Rico) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
All 381 seats of the Congress of Deputies[a] 191 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Registered | 3,798,284 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 2,943,460 (77.5%) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A general election was held in Spain from Friday, 15 January to Monday, 18 January 1869, to elect the members of the Constituent Cortes in the Democratic Sexennium period. 363 of 381 seats in the Congress of Deputies 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.[a]
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 Cortes, 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.[3] 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".[4] 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.[5]
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 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 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 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.[6][7]
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.[8]
Overview
Under the Pact of Ostend and the Cádiz Manifestos, the Spanish Cortes were envisaged as a constituent assembly tasked with drafting a new constitution that would replace the legal framework of the Isabelline period.[9][10][3]
Electoral system
Voting for the Cortes was on the basis of universal manhood suffrage, which comprised all national males over 25 years of age and with a neighborhood certificate.[11][12][13] In Cuba and Puerto Rico, voting was on the basis of censitary suffrage, comprising males of age fulfilling one of the following criteria:[14]
- Being taxpayers with a minimum quota of 50 escudos per territorial contribution or per industrial or trade subsidy;
- Having a particular position (individuals from scientific and literary corporations, and those from the economic societies of Friends of the Country; doctors and graduates in all faculties; ordained ministers; active, unemployed and retired public employees; general officers of the Army and Navy exempt from service, and retired military and naval chiefs and officers; and reporters, chamber secretaries and court clerks of higher courts);
- Directors or heads of industrial establishments and commercial managers and certified teachers);
- Painters and sculptors awarded in national or international exhibitions.
Additionally, voters were required to not being sentenced—by a final court ruling—to disqualification from political rights, to afflictive penalties not legally rehabilitated; neither being criminally prosecuted with an arrest warrant; nor being legally incapacitated, bankrupt, insolvent, or debtors of public funds.[15][16]
The Congress of Deputies was entitled to one seat per each 45,000 inhabitants or fraction greater than 22,500. All 381 members were elected in 88 multi-member constituencies using plurality voting and distributed among the provinces of Spain and the Spanish West Indies in proportion to their populations. Provinces electing between six and ten seats were divided into two sub-provincial constituencies, and into three for those electing over ten seats, with the exception of the Balearics and the Canary Islands, which were divided according to their special circumstances.[17][18][19] Elections in the islands of Cuba and Puerto Rico were delayed or indefinitely postponed due to administrative reasons or the military situation.[2]
As a result of the aforementioned allocation, each Congress multi-member constituency was entitled the following seats:[18][20]
| 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 seats vacated in the Congress throughout the legislative term, provided that this comprised at least one third of the seats assigned to a given province.[21]
Eligibility
Spanish citizens with the legal capacity to vote could run for election, provided that they were not holders of government-appointed offices in constituencies within the whole or part of their respective area of jurisdiction; nor held any public, civil, military or overseas position that required residence outside of Madrid;[22] additionally for the Spanish West Indies, ineligibility extended to those having been convicted of crimes related to the repression of slave trade.[23] A number of positions were exempt from ineligibility:[24][25]
- Holders of government-appointed offices exercising their duties in the province of Madrid, provided that they were running in that province, that their exercise of jurisdiction or command was not affected and that their powers were not limited to the province itself;
- Local mayors and deputy mayors in the Spanish West Indies.
Election date
The election decree was issued on 6 December 1868, 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 both chambers to reconvene on 11 February.[26][27][28] 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.[29] In Cuba, elections were indefinitely postponed due to the outbreak of the Ten Years' War.[1][2]
Results
Overall
 | |||||
| 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[a] | 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 | ||||
| Sources[30][31][32] | |||||
By province
| 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 | N/a | 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 | N/a | 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 | N/a | 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 | N/a | 18 |
Notes
- ^ a b c 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.[1][2]
- ^ a b 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.
References
- ^ a b Roldán de Montaud 1999, p. 246.
- ^ a b c Decree of 1 April (1871), explanatory statement: "On the island of Cuba, the work of preparing electoral lists was hampered by the state of war that prevailed there and the necessary replacement of the electoral districts established by the decree, now law, of 14 December 1868, with new districts. In Puerto Rico, the difficulties arose first from the election that was to be held for the provincial deputation, and then from the need to form new lists subject to the conditions for exercising the right to vote set forth in Article 10 of the draft Constitution of this Antillean island. [Spanish: En la isla de Cuba embarazaron los trabajos de formación de las listas electorales el estado de guerra que allí se sostiene y la precisa sustitución por nuevos distritos de las circunscripciones de elección establecidos por el decreto, hoy ley, de 14 de diciembre de 1868. En Puerto Rico las dificultades nacieron, primero de la elección que debió celebrarse de la Diputación provincial, y después de la necesidad de formar nuevas listas con sujeción a las condiciones que para ejercer el derecho electoral declara el art. 10 del proyecto de Constitución de esta Antilla.]".
- ^ a b López Domínguez 1976, pp. 169–170.
- ^ Fontana & Villares 2007, pp. 347–359.
- ^ Fernández Almagro 1943, p. 397.
- ^ Vilches 2001, pp. 90–101.
- ^ Duarte Montserrat 2013, pp. 353–354.
- ^ Ferrer Dalmau 1941.
- ^ Manifiestos de Cádiz (PDF) (Manifestos). Madrid Gazette (in Spanish). Provisional Revolutionary Board. 19 September 1868. Retrieved 20 September 2025.
- ^ 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 (PDF) (Decree). Madrid Gazette (in Spanish). Provisional Government Board. 3 October 1868. Retrieved 14 September 2025.
- ^ Decree of 9 November (1868), art. 1.
- ^ Ortega Álvarez & Santaolaya Machetti 1996, p. 82.
- ^ Carreras de Odriozola & Tafunell Sambola 2005, p. 1076.
- ^ Decree of 14 December (1868), arts. 7 & 9.
- ^ Decree of 9 November (1868), art. 2.
- ^ Decree of 14 December (1868), art. 10.
- ^ Decree of 9 November (1868), arts. 95–98.
- ^ a b Decree of 14 December (1868), demonstrative chart.
- ^ Ortega Álvarez & Santaolaya Machetti 1996, pp. 82–83.
- ^ Decree of 9 November (1868), demonstrative chart.
- ^ Decree of 9 November (1868), arts. 19–21.
- ^ Decree of 9 November (1868), arts. 13–14.
- ^ Decree of 14 December (1868), arts. 11–13.
- ^ Decree of 9 November (1868), art. 13.
- ^ Decree of 14 December (1868), art. 12.
- ^ De la Fuente Monge 2020, pp. 93–94.
- ^ Decreto convocando Cortes Constituyentes y señalando los días en que se ha de proceder a la elección de los Diputados para las mismas (PDF) (Decree). Madrid Gazette (in Spanish). Provisional Government and Council of Ministers. 6 December 1868. Retrieved 14 September 2025.
- ^ Decreto dictando varias reglas para el ejercicio del sufragio universal (PDF) (Decree). Madrid Gazette (in Spanish). 30 December 1868. Retrieved 14 September 2025.
- ^ López Domínguez 1976, p. 175.
- ^ De la Fuente Monge 2020, pp. 115–123.
- ^ López Domínguez 1976, pp. 187–192 & 705–709.
- ^ Lozano, Carles. "Elecciones Cortes Constituyentes 15 de enero de 1869". Historia Electoral.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 September 2025.
Bibliography
- Decreto sobre el ejercicio del sufragio universal (PDF) (Decree). Madrid Gazette (in Spanish). 9 November 1868. Retrieved 14 September 2025.
- Decreto electoral para Diputados a Cortes Constituyentes en las provincias de Cuba y Puerto Rico (PDF) (Decree). Madrid Gazette (in Spanish). 14 December 1868. Retrieved 14 September 2025.
- Decreto mandando se verifiquen en Puerto Rico las elecciones ordinarias de Senadores y Diputados a Cortes (PDF) (Decree). Madrid Gazette (in Spanish). 1 April 1871. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
- Ferrer Dalmau, Melchor (1941). Historia del Tradicionalismo Español (in Spanish). Vol. 23. Seville: Editorial Católica Española.
- Fernández Almagro, Melchor (1943). "Las Cortes del siglo XIX y la práctica electoral" (PDF). Revista de Estudios Políticos (in Spanish) (9–10). Madrid: Centre for Political and Constitutional Studies: 383–419. ISSN 0048-7694. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
- Martínez Cuadrado, Miguel (1963). "La elección general para Cortes Constituyentes de 1869". Revista de Estudios Políticos (in Spanish) (132): 65–102. ISSN 0048-7694. Retrieved 15 September 2025.
- López Domínguez, José María (1976). Elecciones y partidos políticos de Puerto Rico: 1809-1898 (PDF) (Thesis) (in Spanish). Vol. 1. Puerto Rico: Complutense University of Madrid. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
- Ortega Álvarez, Luis; Santaolaya Machetti, Pablo (1996). "Evolución histórica del sistema electoral español". Revista de las Cortes Generales (in Spanish). 37. Cortes Generales: 65–107. doi:10.33426/rcg/1996/37/784. ISSN 0213-0130.
- Roldán de Montaud, Inés (1999). "Política y elecciones en Cuba durante la restauración" (PDF). Revista de Estudios Políticos (in Spanish) (104): 245–287. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
- Vilches, Jorge (2001). Progreso y libertad: el Partido Progresista en la revolución liberal española (in Spanish). Madrid: Alianza Editorial. ISBN 8420667684.
- Carreras de Odriozola, Albert; Tafunell Sambola, Xavier (2005) [1989]. Estadísticas históricas de España, siglos XIX-XX (PDF) (in Spanish). Vol. 1 (II ed.). Bilbao: Fundación BBVA. pp. 1072–1097. ISBN 84-96515-00-1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015.
- Fontana, Josep; Villares, Ramón (2007). "La época del liberalismo". Historia de España (in Spanish). Vol. 6. Barcelona: Crítica/Marcial Pons. ISBN 9788498928075.
- Duarte Montserrat, Ángel (2013). El republicanismo. Una pasión política (in Spanish). Madrid: Ediciones Cátedra. ISBN 9788437631325.
- De la Fuente Monge, Gregorio (2020). "Las elecciones democráticas a Cortes Constituyentes de 1869". Memoria y Civilización (in Spanish). 23. Madrid: University of Navarre: 87–125. doi:10.15581/001.23.008.
