1922 Portuguese legislative election

General elections were held in Portugal on 29 January 1922.[1] The Democratic Party emerged as the largest in Parliament, winning 74 of the 163 seats in the House of Representatives and 37 of the 70 seats in the Senate.[2]

1922 Portuguese legislative election

29 January 1922

163 seats to the Chamber of Deputies
82 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Afonso Costa Álvaro de Castro
Party PD PLR PR
Leader since 1912 1920
Last election 54 seats 79 seats 12 seats
Seats won 74 34 17
Seat change 20 45 5

  Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party
 
Leader António Lino Neto
Party CM CCP PR
Leader since 1915
Last election 4 seats 3 seats 2 seats
Seats won 13 5 2
Seat change 9 2

Chamber of Deputies

Senate

Prime Minister before election

Francisco Cunha Leal
PD

Prime Minister-elect

Francisco Cunha Leal
PD

Background

The elections were held less than a year after the July 1921 legislative elections, in which the Republican Liberal Party (PLR) had won a majority of votes. However, on 19 October 1921 ("the night of blood"), a military coup resulted in several republican figures being killed, including PLR prime minister António Granjo.[3] On the night of blood, President António José de Almeida invested Manuel Maria Coelho as Prime Minister, but his government resigned on 3 November.[4] On the same day, Carlos Maia Pinto became Prime Minister, but also resigned on 16 December.[5] Francisco Cunha Leal then served as Prime Minister until the elections.[6] The elections took place amidst instability and violence and were postponed four times before finally taking place on 29 January.[6]

Results

Party House of Representatives Senate
Votes % Seats +/– Votes % Seats +/–
Democratic Party74+2037+15
Republican Liberal Party34–4511–21
Reconstitution Party17+510+3
Monarchist Cause13+94+4
Catholic Centre Party5+21–2
Regionalist Party20
Portuguese Socialist Party0000
Other parties and independents18+970
Invalid/blank votes
Total380,000100163070–1
Registered voters/turnout550,00069.1550,000
Source: Nohlen & Stöver

Aftermath

The Democratic Party failed to win an absolute majority of seats and Afonso Costa chose not to form government.[6][7] Instead, António Maria da Silva of the Democratic Party became Prime Minister on 6 February,[7] leading a minority government with the support of the Reconstitution Party, the Catholic Centre Party, the Regionalist Party and some independents.[6] However, the government failed to serve a full term after being forced to resign following a motion of no confidence in November 1923.[8] Further instability resulted in seven different governments holding office in the subsequent period until the 1925 elections.[9]

References

  1. Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p1542 ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7
  2. Nohlen & Stöver, pp1557-1558
  3. Baiôa, Manuel Pimenta Morgado; Fernandes, Paulo Jorge; Ribeiro de Meneses, Filipe (2003). "The Political History of Twentieth-Century Portugal". ISSN 1645-6432. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  4. "Governo de Manuel Maria Coelho". web.archive.org. 2011-03-12. Retrieved 2020-06-28.
  5. Infopédia. "Carlos Maia Pinto - Infopédia". Infopédia - Dicionários Porto Editora (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2020-06-28.
  6. Baiôa, Manuel Pimenta Morgado (2012). "Elites e organizações políticas na I República Portuguesa: o caso do partido republicano nacionalista". dspace.uevora.pt. Retrieved 2020-06-28.
  7. "Governo de António Maria da Silva (1922-1923) | Politipedia". www.politipedia.pt (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2020-06-28.
  8. "Governo de António Maria da Silva (1922-1923) | Politipedia". www.politipedia.pt (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2020-06-28.
  9. "Governos da I República | Politipedia". www.politipedia.pt (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2020-06-28.
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