A general election was held in Spain on 24 February 1918 (for the Congress of Deputies), and on 10 March 1918 (for the Senate), to elect the members of the 17th 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 Liberal government of the Count of Romanones took power in the middle of World War I in Europe, having to navigate through Spain's neutrality in the war and its impact on the country's economy. Finance Minister Santiago Alba gained prominence by leading a liberal legislative programme of tax reforms, public investments, improvements in the Public Treasury administration and fighting tax fraud. These reforms were blocked by the obstructionist and filibustering opposition from the Regionalist League under Francesc Cambó which, coupled with a conflict between Anglophiles and Germanophiles, led to Romanones's resignation in April 1917. A brief 53-day government under the Marquis of Alhucemas fell after the Defence Juntas—constituted as military pressure groups against the higher pay and quicker promotion of "Africanists"—refused to disband, with King Alfonso XIII attempting to maintain the by giving power back to the Conservatives under Eduardo Dato.
During his second tenure, Dato had to tackle the unravelling Spanish crisis of 1917, seeing off the meetings of the Assembly of Parliamentarians in Barcelona (demanding constitutional reform and an increased role of regions in the power-sharing) and the revolutionary general strike in August, as the social response to the rising cost of living, unequal distribution of incomes and inspired by the Russian Revolution. After less than five months, a new interference by the Defence Juntas caused the downfall of Dato's cabinet. Seeking a solution to the mounting crises after the resignation of three prime ministers in less than a year, the King tasked Alhucemas with forming a government of national unity with Maurists, liberals, and Catalanists—nicknamed the "Horace's monster" () due to its heterogeneous composition—and call a snap election.
Joining the warring Conservative factions—Datists, Maurists and Ciervists—the Liberals fragmented into the Alhucemas-led Liberal Democrats, a weakened Romanonist faction and a new splinter by Alba: the Liberal Left. With both dynastic parties in disarray, the resulting parliament was the most fragmented since the approval of the Spanish Constitution of 1876, with neither being able to muster a parliamentary majority. The Republican–Socialist Conjunction merged with Melquíades Álvarez's Reformist Party into the Alliance of the Left, but results were perceived as disappointing (particularly in Madrid, where Álvarez and Alejandro Lerroux both failed to secure their seats). The election would see the formation of the "National Government" () under Antonio Maura, including all Liberal and Conservative factions, as well as the Regionalist League.
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 9 April 1916 for the Congress and on 23 April 1916 for the Senate, which meant that the chambers' terms would have expired on 9 and 23 April 1921, 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 10 January 1918, with the corresponding decree setting election day for 24 February (Congress) and 10 March 1918 (Senate) and scheduling for both chambers to reconvene on 18 March..
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