October 1891 Chilean parliamentary election

The October 1891 Chilean parliamentary election was held in Chile on 18 October 1891, following the defeat of President José Manuel Balmaceda in the Chilean Civil War. Held under the provisional government headed by Jorge Montt, it produced the Congress that inaugurated the political order known as the parliamentary republic.

The election was distinct from the parliamentary election held in March 1891 under Balmaceda's government. That election produced a Congress Constituent that met from April to August, but the body was dissolved after the congressional forces won the civil war. The October election was subsequently held to establish a new Congress under the victorious government.

Background

Relations between Balmaceda and the National Congress had deteriorated during the final years of his presidency. The conflict culminated in the Chilean Civil War, fought between forces supporting Balmaceda's government and forces supporting Congress.

Balmaceda's government held parliamentary elections in March 1891, after the conflict had begun. The resulting Congress Constituent met from April to August and was strongly aligned with the government. The body was dissolved following the victory of the congressional forces in the civil war.

The congressional forces defeated Balmaceda's army at the Battle of Placilla on 28 August 1891. The victorious authorities subsequently organized new parliamentary elections. The election of 18 October was therefore held after the end of the civil war and was intended to constitute a new Congress under the authority of the postwar government.

The principal parties represented in the new Congress were the Conservative, Liberal, and Radical parties. These parties had formed part of the coalition that opposed Balmaceda during the civil war.

Electoral system

The election was held under the electoral legislation in force after the reforms of 1890. These reforms included the creation of the secret ballot through a separate voting chamber and changes to the organization of electoral districts and parliamentary representation.

All 94 seats in the Chamber of Deputies were renewed. The Senate was renewed on a staggered basis, with six of its 32 seats contested in this election.

The new authorities described their electoral policy as "electoral freedom", meaning principally the removal of the direct electoral intervention previously exercised by the executive branch. The October election was the first parliamentary election of the new political regime that followed the civil war.

Results

The Chamber of Deputies elected in October consisted of 40 Conservatives, 31 Liberals, and 23 Radicals.

Six Senate seats were renewed. Three were won by Radicals, two by Liberals, and one by Conservatives.

Aftermath

The newly elected Congress constituted the 23rd legislative period, which began in November 1891 and lasted until 1894.

The election marked the beginning of the period conventionally known as the Chilean parliamentary republic. Although the 1833 Constitution remained formally in force, Congress acquired a dominant role in the political system, and governments increasingly depended on maintaining parliamentary support. The parliamentary period lasted until the political crisis of the 1920s and the adoption of the 1925 Constitution.

The political parties that had opposed Balmaceda dominated the new Congress. Former supporters of Balmaceda subsequently returned to parliamentary politics through the Liberal Democratic Party, founded in 1893 and first represented in Congress following the 1894 parliamentary election.

See also

• Chilean Civil War of 1891
• 1894 Chilean parliamentary election