General elections were held for the first time in Puerto Rico on 27 March 1898,[1] as part of the Spanish general elections. This followed the island being granted a Charter of Autonomy by the Spanish government, which allowed Puerto Rico to elect members to the Spanish parliament and established a bicameral legislature for the island,[2] with a fully-elected House of Representatives and a Council of Administration, whose members were a mix of elected delegates and appointees made by the Governor.[3] The elections were held under universal male suffrage with a voting age of 25.[4]
Four parties contested the elections; the Liberal Fusionist Party led by Luis Muñoz Rivera, the Orthodox Autonomist Party, the Unconditional Party and the Opportunistic Autonomous Group.[1]
Results
editThe result was a victory for the Liberal Fusionist Party, which won a majority of seats in the new legislature.[3] Voter turnout was 71%.[4]
House of Representatives
edit| Party | Votes | % | Seats | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal Fusionist Party | 82,627 | 81.47 | 25 | |
| Orthodox Autonomist Party | 15,068 | 14.86 | 5 | |
| Unconditional Party | 2,144 | 2.11 | 1 | |
| Opportunistic Autonomous Group | 1,585 | 1.56 | 1 | |
| Total | 101,424 | 100.00 | 32 | |
| Source: Mavalet | ||||
Council of Administration
edit| Party | Seats | |
|---|---|---|
| Liberal Fusionist Party | 5 | |
| Orthodox Autonomist Party | 2 | |
| Unconditional Party | 1 | |
| Total | 8 | |
| Source: Mavalet | ||
Cortes Generales
edit| Party | Seats | |
|---|---|---|
| Liberal Fusionist Party | 10 | |
| Orthodox Autonomist Party | 6 | |
| Total | 16 | |
| Source: Mavalet | ||
Aftermath
editThe newly elected legislature met for the first time on 17 July, but was dissolved a week later after the United States took over the island as part of the Spanish–American War.
References
edit- ^ a b Mariano Negrón-Portillo (1981). A Study of the Newspaper La Democracia, Puerto Rico, 1895-1914: A Historical Analysis. pp. 49–50.
- ^ King, Desmond; Lieberman, Robert C.; Ritter, Gretchen; Whitehead, Laurence (2009). Democratization in America: A Comparative-Historical Analysis. JHU Press. p. 78. ISBN 9780801893254.
- ^ a b Richard Worth (2015). Puerto Rico: From Colony to Commonwealth. Enslow Publishing, LLC. p. 73. ISBN 9780766070042.
- ^ a b Kirwin R. Shaffer (2013). Black Flag Boricuas: Anarchism, Antiauthoritarianism, and the Left in Puerto Rico, 1897-1921. University of Illinois Press. p. 56. ISBN 9780252094903.