1909 Chinese parliamentary election

The 1909 Chinese parliamentary election was an indirect election to the first imperial Advisory Council, a preparatory body of the parliament created under the constitutional reform bought by the late Qing dynasty. It was seen as the first popular election in Chinese history.[1]

1909 Chinese parliamentary election
September – October 1909
196 seats (of 200 seats) to the Advisory Council
101 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Chen Baochen Yang Du Yan Xishan
Party Continuous Constitutionalism CERA Xinhai Club
Alliance Constitutionalists Constitutionalists Constitutionalists
Leader's seat Scholars
(Appointed)		 Did not stand Did not stand
Elected seats 38 10 4
Appointed seats 37 0 7
  Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party
 
Leader Sun Yat-sen Wang Rongbao Zheng Xiaoxu
Party Tongmenghui Political Science Club Preparative Constitutionalism
Alliance Revolutionaries Constitutionalists Constitutionalists
Leader's seat Did not stand Government Officials
(Appointed)		 Did not stand
Elected seats 4 1 3
Appointed seats 3 4 2
  Constitutionalist majority
  Independent majority
  Divided between constitutionalists and independents
  Divided between constitutionalists and revolutionaries
  No election

Originally 100 members, half of the seats in the Council were to be elected by the members of the Provincial Consultative Assemblies, while the other half were appointed by the Emperor. Due to the fact the Provincial Consultative Assembly had not been set up in Sinkiang, the seats were reduced to 98.

Translations with bracketed Chinese text are for reference only.

Electoral system

The candidates were indirectly elected by members of Consultative Assembly in provinces. The number of candidate each electorate shall vote for was double the delegated seats. Amongst all the supported candidates, half of them would be chosen by the governor as elected members. Appointed members included a certain degree of election features as there were considerable size of eligible members.[1]

Constituencies

The new Advisory Council only consisted of 196 members, instead of 200 as planned, as Consultative Assembly was not established in Sinkiang, and the number of appointed members shrank to 98 to achieve the balance.

Elected members are as follows:

ProvinceSeats ProvinceSeats
Zhili9Shanxi5
Zhejiang7Fujian4
Jiangsu7Shaanxi4
Jiangxi6Yunnan4
Shandong6Fengtian3
Sichuan6Gansu3
Anhui5Guangxi3
Henan5Heilongjiang2
Hubei5Jilin2
Hunan5Guizhou2
Guangdong5Xinjiang—

Appointed members are as follows:

ConstituencySeats Constituency Seats
Government Officials (各部院衙門官)32 Scholars (碩學通儒) 10
Princes of Imperial Family (宗室王公世爵) 14 Large Taxpayers (納稅多額) 10
Princes of Feudatories (外藩王公世爵)14 Descendants of Emperor (宗室覺羅) 6
Nobility of Manchu and Han (滿漢世爵)12

Result

The constitutionalists, who advocated constitutional monarchy in Qing, secured a majority in the Advisory Council. The revolutionaries on the other hand, despite banned by the authorities, won a few seats.[2][3] The party membership is only estimation as political party system was immature at the time. Some members resigned during the session and the vacancies were filled according to the precedence list, which their membership is not reflected here.
Political party Elected Appointed Total
Continuous Constitutionalism Association (憲政維持進行會) 38 37 75
Xinhai Club (辛亥俱樂部) 4 7 11
Chinese Empire Reform Association 10 0 10
Political Science Club (政學會) 1 4 5
Preparative Constitutionalism Association (預備立憲公會) 3 2 5
Brotherhood of Petition for Parliament (國會請願同志會) 5 0 5
Joint Association of Provincial Consultative Assemblies (各省諮議局聯合會) 3 0 3
Guangdong Autonomous Chamber of Commerce (粵商自治會) 1 0 1
Preparative Constitutionalism Association of Guizhou (貴州憲政預備會) 1 0 1
Constitutionalists total 66 50 116
Tongmenghui 4 3 7
Association for Guizhou Autonomy (貴州自治學社) 1 0 1
Revolutionaries total 5 3 8
Independents 27 45 72
Vacant 2 2 4
Total 100 100 200

Detailed results
Zhili Zhejiang Jiangsu Jiangxi Shandong Sichuan Anhui Henan Hunan Shanxi Yunnan
Continuous Constitutionalism Association 6 1 4 2 2 3 1 2 1
Chinese Empire Reform Association 2 2 2 1 2
Xinhai Club 1 2 1
Political Science Club 1
Preparative Constitutionalism Association 1 1 1
Brotherhood of Petition for Parliament 1 1 1 1 1
Joint Association of Provincial Consultative Assemblies 1 2
Tongmenghui 1 2 0 1
Independents 1 2 1 1 2 2 3 1 1
Total 9 7 7 6 6 6 5 5 5 5 4
Hubei Guangdong Fujian Shaanxi Fengtian Gansu Guangxi Guizhou Heilongjiang Jilin
Continuous Constitutionalism Association 4 4 2 1 3 2
Chinese Empire Reform Association 1
Guangdong Autonomous Chamber of Commerce 1
Preparative Constitutionalism Association of Guizhou 1
Association for Guizhou Autonomy 1
Independents 1 4 2 2 2 2
Total 5 5 4 4 3 3 3 2 2 2
Officials Imperial Prince Feudatory Prince Nobility Scholars Taxpayers Emperor's Descendants
Continuous Constitutionalism Association 14 6 3 6 6 3
Xinhai Club 6
Political Science Club 2 1 1
Preparative Constitutionalism Association 2
Tongmenghui 1 2
Independents 9 8 13 9 1 2 3
Total 32 14 14 12 10 10 6

See also

References
  1. 張, 朋園 (2007). 中國民主政治的困境 1909－1949：晩清以來歷屆議會選舉述論. Changchun: 吉林出版集團有限責任公司. p. 63.
  2. 張, 朋園 (2007). 中國民主政治的困境 1909－1949：晩清以來歷屆議會選舉述論. Changchun: 吉林出版集團有限責任公司. pp. 317–329.
  3. 張, 玉法 (1985). 清季的立憲團體. 中央研究院近代史研究所.
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