A general election was held in Spain from 15 to 18 January 1869 to elect the members of the Constituent Cortes in the Democratic Sexennium period. 363 of 381 seats in the 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.

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 , 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. 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". 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.

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 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 , 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 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.

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.

Overview Under the Pact of Ostend and the Cádiz Manifestos, the Spanish were conceived as a constituent assembly tasked with drafting a new constitution that would replace the legal framework of the Isabelline period.

Date Election day was held over four voting days: the first was used to elect polling station officials, and the remaining three were devoted to the parliamentary election itself..

The election to the Constituent was officially called on 6 December 1868, with the corresponding decree 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 the chamber to reconvene on 11 February.; . 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. In Cuba, elections were postponed due to the outbreak of the Ten Years' War.

Electoral system Voting for the was based on universal manhood suffrage, comprising all Spanish national males over 25 years of age and registered in the census.. In the Spanish West Indies, voting was based on censitary suffrage, comprising Spanish males of voting age, with full civil rights, who met either of the following:. Being taxpayers with a minimum quota of 50 escudos in property or corporate taxes; Holding specific positions (members of scientific and literary corporations or economic societies of Friends of the Country; doctors and graduates; ordained ministers; active and retired public employees; general officers, awarded painters or sculptors, senior court officials; industrial and commercial managers; certified teachers); Additional restrictions excluded those deprived of political rights or barred from public office by a final sentence, criminally imprisoned or convicted, legally incapacitated, bankrupt, and public debtors.; .

The Constituent had one seat per 45,000 inhabitants or fraction above 22,500. All were elected in multi-member constituencies corresponding to the provinces of Spain—each assigned a number of seats according to population—using plurality voting. Provinces electing six to ten seats were divided into two sub-provincial constituencies, and those electing above ten into three (with the exception of the Balearics and the Canary Islands, which were divided according to their particular circumstances).. Cuba and Puerto Rico were allocated 18 and 11 seats, respectively..

As a result of the aforementioned allocation, each multi-member constituency (a total of 88) was entitled the following seats:; .

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 vacant seats during the legislative term, as long as this affected at least one third of the seats assigned to a given province..

Candidates Nomination rules Spanish males with the right to vote could run for election. Causes of ineligibility applied to holders of government-appointed posts within their areas of jurisdiction, except for those serving in the province of Madrid with limited authority. Additionally in the Spanish West Indies, ineligibility extended to those convicted of slave trade crimes, but not to local mayors and deputy mayors.; .

Incompatibility rules barred representing multiple constituencies simultaneously, as well as combining the role of deputy with any civil, military or overseas post based outside Madrid.; .

Results Overall + ← Summary of the 15–18 January 1869 Constituent Cortes election results → 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 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

By province + Summary of provincial results in the 15–18 January 1869 Constituent Cortes election 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 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 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 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 18

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