Carlism was the dominant political movement in elections in Navarre during the period between the Third Carlist War (ended 1876) and the Primo de Rivera dictatorship (began 1923). The movement, defeated in 1876, during the Restauración period recalibrated its focus from military action to political means and media campaigns. Accommodating themselves to political framework of the Alfonsine monarchy, party leaders considered elections, and especially elections to Cortes Generales, primary vehicle of political mobilization. Navarre turned out to be the Carlist electoral stronghold; it elected 35% of all Carlist deputies voted into the parliament during almost 50 years of the monarchical liberal democracy. Though the phenomenon remained marginal from the national Spanish perspective, political prowess of Carlism in the province was key to sustain its potential until the movement regained momentum during the Second Spanish Republic.
Electoral system
During the entire Restauración period Navarre was divided into 5 electoral districts, territorially roughly corresponding to the existing judicial districts;César Layana Ilundáin, Elecciones generales en Navarra (1876-1890), Pamplona 1998, , 9788495075178, pp. 65-92, Mina Apat, María Cruz, Elecciones y partidos en Navarra (1891-1923), [in:] José Luis Garcia Delgado (ed.), La España de la Restauración, Madrid 1985, , pp. 111-113, Jesús María Zaratiegui Labiano, Efectos de la aplicación del sufragio universal en Navarra. Las elecciones generals de 1886 y 1891, [in:] Príncipe de Viana 57 (1996), pp. 186-7 4 of them (Estella, Aoiz, Tafalla and Tudela) were categorized as “distritos rurales” with one mandate each, and 1 (Pamplona) enjoyed the status of a “circunscripción” with 3 mandates available. In both types of districts mandates were assigned according to the first-past-the-post system. In the 20th century the comarca of Améscoas was moved from the Pamplona district to the Estella district.though none of the studies consulted suggests gerrymandering
Until the 1886 elections the eligible voters (around 19.000, some 6% of the population) were males above 25 years of age with appropriate material status.i.e. those who paid annual fees known as “contribución territorial” (rural areas, ca 17.5 thousand payers in 1886) or “subsidio industrial” (urban residents, around 1.5 thousand payers in 1886) Starting the 1891 campaign the rights were granted to all males above 25 years, which increased the number of potential voters to around 64.000 people (some 21% of the population).see population and electorate numbers quoted by Zaratiegui 1996, pp. 178, 199
Spanish elections of the Restauración are marked by 2 distinct features: turnismo and caciquismo. According to the turnista routine, elections were organized by one of two rotating pre-appointed parties, Conservatives and Liberals, to ensure their parliamentary majority; the objective was achieved by a wide range of electoral manipulations known as pucherazos.see Rosa Ana Gutiérrez, Rafael Zurita, Renato Camurri, Elecciones y cultura política en España e Italia (1890-1923), Valencia 2003, , 9788437056722 Caciquismo was the system of political corruption based on networks of local party bosses.see José Varela Ortega, El poder de la influencia : geografía del caciquismo en España: (1875-1923), Madrid 2001, In Navarre both features were in play, though their efficiency decreased over time and varied across the province, with countryside usually more prone to electoral fraud.e.g. in the urban constituency of Pamplona the turnout in the 1890s was usually lower than in the countryside, which seems counter-intuitive. The most likely explanation is that in smaller towns and villages the turnout was inflated by electoral fraud, Zaratiegui 1996, p. 198. See also Angel Garcia-Sanz Marcotegui, Caciques y políticos forales. Las elecciones a la Diputación de Navarra (1877-1923), Pamplona 1992,
Navarre and Spain
Navarre elected 35% (50 out of 144) Traditionalist deputies voted in during the Restauración, though the ratio varied across almost half a century in question.full data available at Indice Historico de Diputados, see here. In case of few deputies their political adscription is described differently, e.g. Ángel García-Sanz Marcotegui gives the number of 48 Carlist and Integrist deputies, see his Caciques y políticos forales: Las elecciones de la Diputación de Navarra (1877-1923), Pamplona 1992, p. 313 Through the 1880s the province was trailing behind with no mandate won, while single seats were occasionally conquered in Guipuzcoa, Álava and Vizcay. In the 1890s and from 1916 onwards Navarrese deputies to the Cortes formed some 30-40% of the entire Traditionalist minority.except 1899, when the claimant Carlos VII ordered abstention and the party as organization refrained from taking part; only individual candidates were permitted: “no habrá diputados carlistas en las próximas elecciones, pero podrá haber carlistas diputados” see Jose María Remirez de Ganuza López, Las Elecciones Generales de 1898 y 1899 en Navarra, [in] Príncipe de Viana 49 (1988), , p. 382 From 1903 to 1914 the Navarrese heavily dominated in the group of Carlist deputies, in 1906 constituting the record 67% (4 out of 6). In absolute figures the most successful were the years of 1907 and 1910, when Traditionalists grabbed 6 out of 7 Navarrese seats available; during these terms they formed 1,5% of all deputies (otherwise usually ranging between 0,8% and 1,2%).
As the province voted in 50 Carlist deputies altogether, in terms of the legitimist zeal no other part of Spain stood comparison. Speaking in terms of the then existing regiones, two were somewhat behind, Vascongadas electing 44 deputies and Catalonia 23 deputies. Old Castile and Valencia won 11 seats each, and 5 were scattered across Asturias, Leon and Baleares. Not a single seat has been won in the capital, Madrid.
With 22 MPs Pamplona is topping the list of Spanish electoral districts with the highest number of Carlist deputies voted in; though the next in line are two Guipuzcoan districts, Estella (12 MPs) comes fourth and Aoiz (8 MPs) is fifth. Tafalla (5 MPs) still makes it to top ten, while Tudela (3 MPs) takes place mid-range, ahead of 18 districts which one time or another elected 1 or 2 Traditionalist deputies. The highest rate of success measured as percentage of seats won out of all seats available was recorded by two districts in Guipuzcoa, with Estella coming third (65%), Aoiz fourth (40%) and Pamplona sixth (37%).
Periodization
In terms of Carlist electoral history in Navarre, the era of 1879-1923for the period where Carlism participated in elections as an organized force, i.e. for 1891-1923, all branches of Carlism formed 38% of all Navarrese deputies and 29% of all Navarrese senators, see Maria del Mar Larraza, Navarra, [in:] José Varela Ortega (ed.), El poder de la influencia: geografía del caciquismo en España (1875-1923), Madrid 2001, , 9788425911521, p. 444, Navarre falls into 4 sub-periods, marked by different conditions, strategies, and above all, different results.detailed reviews of selected campaigns in Zaratiegui 1996 (1886 and 1891), Remirez 1988 (1898 and 1899), María del Mar Larraza Micheltorena, Las elecciones legislatives de 1893: el comienzo del fin del control de los comicios por los gobiernos liberales, [in:] Principe de Viana 49 (1988), pp. 215-227, Sebastian Cerro Guerrero, Los resultados de las elecciones de diputados a Cortes de 1910 en Navarra, [in:] Principe de Viana 49 (1988), , Jesús María Fuente Langas, Elecciones de 1916 en Navarra, [in:] Príncipe de Viana 51 (1990), , pp. 947-957, pp. 93-106; also worthwhile studying Alberto Garcia Umbon, Elecciones y partidos politicos en Tudela 1931-1933, [in:] Príncipe de Viana, 50 (1989), , pp. 221-262, Elena Floristan Imizcoz, María Luisa Garde Etayo, El manifesto constitutive de la Alianza Foral (1921), [in:] Principe de Viana 49 (1988), pp. 147-154, Ana Serrano Moreno, Los resultados de las elecciones a Cortes Constituyentes de 1931 en el municipio de Pamplona: un análisis especial, [in:] Principe de Viana 49 (1988), pp. 457-464, Ana Serrano Moreno, Las elecciones a Cortes Constituyentes de 1931 en Navarra, [in:] Príncipe de Viana, 50 (1989), pp. 687-776, Angel Garcia-Sanz Marcotegui, Las elecciones de diputados forales en el distrito de Estella – Los Arcos (1877-1915), [in:] Príncipe de Viana 51 (1990), pp. 441-488, Angel Garcia-Sanz Marcotegui, Las elecciones municipales de Pamplona en la Restauración (1891-1923), Pamplona 1990, The period of 1879-1890 produced almost total electoral absence, 1891-1902 were the years of ascendance, 1903-1917 provided the Carlists with total domination and 1918-1923 demonstrated gradual eclipse.slightly different periodisation is proposed for elections to local Diputación Foral: 1890-1903 (mainstream Carlists and Integrists controlled 35% of the mandates), 1905-1916 (68%) and 1917-1923 (25%), see García-Sanz Marcotegui 1992, p. 311; another proposal (into "caciquismo pleno" until 1896 and "caciquismo parcial" afterwards) in Stanley G. Payne, Navarra y el nacionalismo vasco en perspectiva historica, [in:] Principe de Viana 47 (1984), pp. 103-4
Military defeat suffered in 1876 paralyzed Carlist activities in the country, with press suspended, circulos closed and leaders exiled. Though structures of the party were being gradually rebuilt, until the late 1880s there were still neither Carlist electoral centers nor other comités organizados operating in Navarre.Zaratiegui 1996, p. 180 Their first daily, El Tradicionalista, appeared as late as 1886,this Pamplonese daily was to be taken over by the rebellious Integrists two years later; it appeared between 1886 and 1893, Zaratiegui 1996, pp. 182-3, to be replaced by La Tradicion Navarra (1894-1932), see Imizcoz, Garde 1988, p. 149 and was replaced by La Lealtad Navarratransformed in 1897 into El Pensamiento Navarro in 1888.Zaratiegui 1996, p. 181-182 The party did not field any official candidates, though there were a few who demonstrated some sympathy for the Carlist cause.Zaratiegui 1996 p. 187, Remirez 1988, pp. 361, 373 Carlists tested their own strength in elections to Diputación Foral starting late 1870, but were unsuccessful until the late 1880s.Garcia-Sanz 1990, pp. 456, 459, 480 They first re-emerged as political group in local municipal elections, as in 1881running in alliance with the Fueristas as Unión Pamplonesa they were able to elect 8 concejales to the Pamplona ayuntamiento.against 3 Liberals and 1 democrat, see Partido Fuerista entry at Gran Enciclopedia Navarra