1898 Puerto Rican general election

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

The 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

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

Party		Seats
	Liberal Fusionist Party	5
	Orthodox Autonomist Party	2
	Unconditional Party	1
Total		8
Source: Mavalet

Cortes Generales

Party		Seats
	Liberal Fusionist Party	10
	Orthodox Autonomist Party	6
Total		16
Source: Mavalet

Aftermath

The 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

1. Mariano Negrón-Portillo (1981). A Study of the Newspaper La Democracia, Puerto Rico, 1895-1914: A Historical Analysis. pp. 49–50.
2. King, Desmond; Lieberman, Robert C.; Ritter, Gretchen; Whitehead, Laurence (2009). Democratization in America: A Comparative-Historical Analysis. JHU Press. p. 78. ISBN 9780801893254.
3. Richard Worth (2015). Puerto Rico: From Colony to Commonwealth. Enslow Publishing, LLC. p. 73. ISBN 9780766070042.
4. 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.