1876 Spanish general election

1876 Spanish general election
← 1873 20–23 January 1876 (Congress)
1–4 February 1876 (Senate)
28–31 January 1876 (Canary Islands)
15–18 February 1876 (Puerto Rico)		 1879 →
All 391 seats in the Congress of Deputies and all 196 seats in the Senate
196 seats needed for a majority in the Congress of Deputies
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Antonio Cánovas del Castillo Práxedes Mateo Sagasta Alejandro Pidal y Mon
Party Conservative Constitutional Moderate
Leader since 1874 1872 1876
Leader's seat Madrid Zamora Villaviciosa
Last election 3 seats 7 seats 0 seats
Seats won 317 48 12
Seat change Green arrow up314 Green arrow up41 Green arrow up12
  Fourth party Fifth party
 
Leader Cristino Martos Emilio Castelar
Party Radical PRDF
Leader since 1871 1876
Leader's seat — Barcelona
Last election 20 seats 347 seats
Seats won 6 1
Seat change Red arrow down14 Red arrow down346
Prime Minister before election

Antonio Cánovas del Castillo
Conservative

Prime Minister after election

Antonio Cánovas del Castillo
Conservative

The 1876 Spanish general election was held from Thursday, 20 January to Sunday, 23 January 1876 (for the Congress of Deputies) and from Tuesday, 1 February to Friday, 4 February 1876 (for the Senate), to elect the Constituent Restoration Cortes of the Kingdom of Spain. All 406 seats in the Congress of Deputies were up for election, as well as all 196 seats in the Senate. In the Canary Islands the election was held from 28 to 31 January, and in Puerto Rico it was held from 15 to 18 February.[1][2] On 5 April 1877, another election to the Senate was held.[3]

This was the first election to be held after the end of the First Spanish Republic in 1874. The Third Carlist War and the Ten Years' War were still unraveling at the time, meaning that elections were not held in some districts (namely, those in the Captaincy General of Cuba). The newly-founded Liberal Conservative Party of incumbent prime minister Antonio Cánovas del Castillo won an overall majority of seats, paving the way for the adoption of the Spanish Constitution of 1876, which would mark the starting point of the Bourbon Restoration that would last until 1931.

  1. ^ "Historia política del siglo XIX. Elecciones y legislaturas. 34. Constituyentes de 1876". Spanish National Research Council (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  2. ^ "Real decreto disponiendo que las Cortes de la Monarquía española se reúnan el 15 de Febrero, y señalando los días en que han de comenzar las elecciones de Senadores y de Diputados" (PDF). Gaceta de Madrid (in Spanish) (1). Agencia Estatal Boletín Oficial del Estado: 1–2. 1 January 1876.
  3. ^ "Real decreto disolviendo el actual Senado, y señalando el día 5 de Abril próximo para la elección de los Senadores que deben nombrar las Corporaciones del Estado y los mayores contribuyentes" (PDF). Gaceta de Madrid (in Spanish) (41). Agencia Estatal Boletín Oficial del Estado: 375. 10 February 1877.