Electoral System during the II Spanish Republic
Comparison with the current electoral system
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.46661/revintpensampolit.12089Keywords:
II Spanish Republic, majority electoral system, proportional electoral system, electoral law of 1931, electoral law of 1933, bonus of seats to most voted party or coalition or block, discordances between votes and seats, unblocked lists, closed and blocked lists, d’Hondt lawAbstract
Introduction. In the three elections of 1931, 1933 and 1936 held in the Second Spanish Republic, a majority electoral system with restricted voting was used. Each voter could mark on open and unblocked lists a maximum number of candidates slightly less than the number of seats in their constituency. Deputies were elected in a similar way to the current electoral system for electing senators. Methodology. The actual electoral results of 1931, 1933 and 1936 are compared with the hypothetical results that would have been obtained if the electoral system had been the one established in 1977 based on closed and blocked lists. Results. The list with the most votes in each constituency was favored, which encouraged the formation of coalitions and punished fragmentation in each constituency, since the list with the most votes obtained the vast majority of seats. Conclusions. In the elections of 1931 and 1936 the left-wing bloc was benefited, because it obtained a percentage of seats much higher than its percentage of votes. While in the 1933 elections the right-wing bloc was benefited.
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