1893 Spanish general election

1893 Spanish general election

5 March 1893 (Congress)
19 March 1893 (Senate)

All 447 seats in the Congress of Deputies and 180 (of 360) seats in the Senate
224 seats needed for a majority in the Congress of Deputies
Registered4,072,776
Turnout2,786,216 (68.4%)
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Práxedes Mateo Sagasta Antonio Cánovas del Castillo Manuel Ruiz Zorrilla
Party Liberal Conservative Republican
Leader since 1880 1874 1893
Leader's seat Logroño Cieza Madrid
Last election 108 (C) · 41 (S) 301 (C) · 123 (S) 21 (C) · 0 (S)
Seats won 298 (C) · 119 (S) 67 (C) · 35 (S) 36 (C) · 2 (S)
Seat change 190 (C) · 78 (S) 234 (C) · 88 (S) 15 (C) · 2 (S)

  Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party
 
Leader Emilio Castelar Francisco Silvela Enrique de Aguilera y Gamboa
Party Possibilist Silvelist Carlist
Leader since 1879 1892 1891
Leader's seat Huesca Piedrahíta (lost)
Last election 6 (C) · 1 (S) Did not contest 4 (C) · 1 (S)
Seats won 18 (C) · 6 (S) 17 (C) · 4 (S) 8 (C) · 2 (S)
Seat change 12 (C) · 5 (S) 17 (C) · 4 (S) 4 (C) · 1 (S)


Prime Minister before election

Práxedes Mateo Sagasta
Liberal

Prime Minister after election

Práxedes Mateo Sagasta
Liberal

A general election was held in Spain on Sunday, 5 March (for the Congress of Deputies) and on Sunday, 19 March 1893 (for the Senate), to elect the members of the 6th Restoration Cortes. All 442 seats in the Congress of Deputies—plus five special districts—were up for election, as well as 180 of 360 seats in the Senate.

During this period, an informal system colloquially known as El Turno Pacífico (English: The Peaceful Turn) was operated by the two main parties in the country—the Conservatives and the Liberals—to determine in advance the result of the election, often through the encasillado, caciquism and election rigging, ensuring that both parties would have alternating periods in power. As a result, elections were often neither truly free nor fair, though they could be more competitive in the country's urban centres where this system was weaker.

In this election, the ruling Liberal Party of Práxedes Mateo Sagasta secured a large majority in the Cortes, granting him the required parliamentary support for a new "turn" in power. This came following the downfall of Antonio Cánovas del Castillo's Conservative government in December 1892 as a result of an internal split by former minister Francisco Silvela over the issue of political regeneration. The election also saw a strong performance by pro-republican parties, which went on to win in the two main Spanish cities—Madrid and Barcelona—and secure over 10% of the seats in the Congress.