Cisleithanian legislative election, 1907

Austria-Hungary
This article is part of a series on the politics and government of Austria-Hungary
Compromise of 1867
Government Dual Monarchy Foreign Ministry Foreign Minister Foreign Service Foreign Diplomacy
Cisleithania Emperor of Austria (List) Crown of Saint Wenceslas Imperial Council House of Lords House of Representatives Minister-President
Transleithania King of Hungary (List) Crown of Saint Stephen Royal Diet House of Magnates House of Representatives Prime Minister
Subdivisions Cisleithania Austria above the Enns Austria below the Enns Bohemia Bukovina Carinthia Carniola Cracow Dalmatia Galicia and Lodomeria Gorizia and Gradisca Istria Moravia Salzburg Silesia Styria Trieste Tyrol Vorarlberg Transleithania Croatia (until 1868) Croatia-Slavonia (from 1868) Fiume Hungary Slavonia (until 1868) Military Frontier (until 1882) Condominium Bosnia and Herzegovina
Related Settlement of 1868 Treaty of Berlin Bosnian Crisis Treaty of Saint-Germain Treaty of Trianon United States of Greater Austria
Other countries Atlas

A legislative election to elect the members of the 11th Imperial Council were held in Cisleithania, the northern and western ("Austrian") crown lands of Austria-Hungary, on 14 and 23 May 1907.^[1] They were the first elections held under universal male suffrage, after an electoral reform abolishing tax paying requirements for voters had been adopted by the Council and was endorsed by Emperor Franz Joseph earlier in the year.^[2] However, seat allocations were based on tax revenues from the States.^[2]

Electoral system

Opening session of the House of Deputies, 17 June 1907

Under the shadow of the Russian Revolution of 1905 and large-scale demonstrations organized by the Social Democrats, the emperor to placate the public had a reform of the former five-class franchise system drafted by Minister-President Paul Gautsch von Frankenthurn. His successor Baron Max Wladimir von Beck pushed it through, against fierce resistance from the Austrian House of Lords and the heir to the throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand.

Elections in the constituencies of "the Kingdoms and Lands represented in the Imperial Council" were held according to a plurality voting system. If no candidate received the required absolute majority on May 14, only the two candidates receiving the most votes survived to the second round on May 23. In this way 516 representatives of the constituent crown lands were elected, among them 130 from Bohemia, 106 from Galicia, 64 from Lower Austria, and 49 from Moravia. The numerous political associations were again split according to ethnicity ("nations"), with a result that no government could ever rely on a stable majority.

Results

The right-wing Christian Social Party emerged as the largest bloc in Parliament, holding 96 of the 516 seats, followed by the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria with 87 seats. The Christian Socials won most rural constituencies in Upper and Lower Austria, Styria, Salzburg, Tyrol, and Vorarlberg). They also achieved the majority in the capital Vienna, benefitting from the popularity of Christian Social major Karl Lueger. In the German constituencies of Bohemia and Moravia, but also in Carinthia, the German national parties (German People's Party et al.) achieved strong results. The Social Democrats had their strongholds in the cities, beside Vienna also in Graz, Salzburg, Innsbruck, Brno or Linz. Voter turnout was 84.6%.^[3]

Voting

Seats

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Reichsratsabgeordnete 1907.

List of political parties in Austria

References

Elections in Austria-Hungary
Cisleithania 1848 1867 1871–72 1873 1879 1885 1891 1897 1900–01 1907 1911
Transleithania 1848 1861 1865 1869 1872 1875 1878 1881 1884 1887 1892 1896 1901 1905 1906 1910
Croatia-Slavonia 1865 1867 1871 1872 1878 1881 1883 1884 1887 1892 1897 1901 1906 1908 1910 1911 1913 Dalmatia 1861 1864 1867 1870 1876 1883 1889 1895 1901 1908

Elections and referendums in Austria
As Cisleithania (1848–1918) Imperial Council elections 1848 1867 1871–72 1873 1879 1885 1891 1897 1900–01 1907 1911
Republic of Austria (1918–present) Parliamentary elections 1919 1920 1923 1927 1930 1945 1949 1953 1956 1959 1962 1966 1970 1971 1975 1979 1983 1986 1990 1994 1995 1999 2002 2006 2008 2013 next Presidential elections 1951 1957 1963 1965 1971 1974 1980 1986 1992 1998 2004 2010 2016 European elections 1996 1999 2004 2009 2014 Referendums 1938 1978 1994 2013