1873 Spanish general election

Spanish general election, 1873

10 May 1873
All 383 seats of the Congress of Deputies 192 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   125x150px 125x150px Leader Francesc Pi i Margall Cristino Martos y Balbí Práxedes Mateo Sagasta Party Democratic Federal Republican Party Radical independents Constitutional and conservative independents Leader's seat Barcelona Madrid Madrid Seats won 78 346 20 7 Seat change 268 New party 7 Percentage 90.34% 5.22% 1.83% Swing 70.39 New party 1.75   Fourth party Fifth party   125x150px Leader Antonio Cánovas del Castillo Party Independent Alfonsinos Other Leader's seat Madrid Seats won 3 7 Seat change 6 9 Percentage 0.78% 1.83% Swing 1.61 2.26
300px Spanish Congress of Deputies, after the election
Prime Minister before election Estanislao Figueras Democratic Federal Republican Party Elected Prime Minister Francesc Pi i Margall Democratic Federal Republican Party

General elections to the Cortes Generales were held in Spain on May 10 1873. At stake were all 383 seats in the Congress of Deputies. The Democratic Federal Republican Party won the elections.

History

The elections were held with universal male suffrage. The 1873 were both the first and last of the brief 1st Spanish Republic. The elections, however, were held in very unorthodox conditions, and representativeness proved ridiculous, even for the time, because neither the Carlist or alfonsist monarchists participated in the elections. The same happened with centralist and unitarian Republicans, or even the incipient labor organizations affiliated with the 1st International, that held a boycott campaign. Those were possibly the election with the lowest turnout in the history of Spain. In Catalonia only the 25% of the electorate voted. In Madrid the 28%. This left the republic with a serious lack of legitimacy.

Results

← General election, 10 May 1873 →
Party	Seats	Leader
Democratic Federal Republican Party	346	Francesc Pi i Margall
Independent radicals	20	Cristino Martos Balbi
Constitutional Party	7	Práxedes Mateo Sagasta
Independent monarchists	3	Antonio Cánovas del Castillo
Unitarian republicans	1
Other	6

References

• CONGRESO DE LOS DIPUTADOS - HISTORICO DE DIPUTADOS 1810-1977
• Elecciones Cortes Constituyentes - 15 de enero de 1869