Legislative Election in Chile (1811)

The first parliamentary elections in Chile took place in 1811 . They elected 40 deputies of the National Congress of Chile . The First National Congress was one of the important episodes of the Chilean War of Independence.

1822 →
Legislative Election in Chile (1811) National Congress: 40
1811
November 17th
The consignment	Moderate	Patriots	Royalists
Seats received	21	9	10
Votes	(52.50%)	(22.50%)	(25.00%)
Distribution of Congress deputies by party:      Royalists      Moderate      Patriots

During this period, under pressure from Napoleon, the Spanish king Charles IV and his son Ferdinand VII abdicated and were actually arrested. Bonaparte seated his elder brother Joseph on the Spanish throne. In 1810, Chile formed the Provisional Government of Chile during the absence of the Spanish king. In 1811, it was decided to hold elections for the National Congress, which was to consist of 42 deputies. By March 1811, 36 representatives were elected from all major cities, with the exception of Santiago and Valparaiso.

Chile's politics distinguished three groups: extremists (patriots), royalists, and moderate (patriots). None of the groups then advocated independence and differed only in the degree of political autonomy to which they sought. Moderate patriots under the leadership of Jose Miguel Infante and Agustin de Eisagirre had a majority in 21 places. They advocated slow reforms, because they were afraid that the Spanish king, after returning to the throne, could undo all the changes if he decided that they were trying to gain independence. Patriots, including Bernardo O'Higgins , Luis de la Cruz and Manuel Antonio Recabarren, advocated the greatest freedom from the Spanish crown and the fastest reforms in the country, but did not call for independence. They received only 9 seats in the National Congress and were in a clear minority. The royalists were opposed to reform and advocated maintaining the status quo. The supporters of the Spanish crown had 10 seats.

The interim government transferred power in the country to the National Congress on July 4, 1811. However, on August 10, Juan Martinez de Rosas led the leadership of the revolutionary movement and formed the Second Provisional Government of Chile.