1914 Cuban parliamentary election

Midterm parliamentary elections were held in Cuba on 1 November 1914 in order to fill half the seats in the House of Representatives,[1] as well as a single seat in the Senate. The National Conservative Party was the biggest winner, taking 22 of the 49 House seats and the sole Senate seat.

Results

House of Representatives

PartySeats
National Conservative Party22
Liberal Party of Cuba15
Unionist Liberal Party9
Provincial Liberal Party2
Cuban National Party1
Total49
Source: Nohlen

Candidates for Representatives of La Habana Province

National Conservative Party (NCP)

  • Gustavo Pino
  • Raul de Cardenas (Incumbent)
  • Miguel Coyula (Incumbent)
  • Alfredo Betancourt Manduley
  • Federico G. Morales (Incumbent)
  • Felipe Gonzalez Sarrain (Incumbent)
  • Gonzalo Freyre de Andrade

Liberal Party of Cuba (LPC)

  • Eugenio L. Azpiazo
  • Generoso Campos Marquetti
  • Juan Gualberto Gómez
  • Benito Lagueruela
  • Carlos Guas Pagueras

Unionist Liberal Party (ULP)

  • Manuel Varona Suárez
  • Miguel Maniano Gómez
  • Enrique Roig (Incumbent)

Cuban National Party (CNP)

  • José d'Estrampes

Candidates for Representatives of Pinar del Rio Province

National Conservative Party
Candidates* Status Votes**
Wifredo Fernández Vega Incumbent Winner 36,940
Francisco Galatas Errasti Won Race 25,047
José Baldor Valdés Won Race 25,122
Narciso Camejo Pimienta Lost Race 10,030
Alfonso Masón García Lost Race 8,879
Liberal Party of Cuba
Candidates Status Votes
Armando del Pino Sandrino Won Race 22,708
Estanislao Cartañá Borrell Won Race 17,927
Ramón Vidal Díaz Lost Race 17,700
José Lazo Rodríguez Lost Race 7,156
Alfredo Veliz Muñoz Lost Race 9,690
Unionist Liberal Party
Candidates Status Votes
César Madrid Vega Lost Race 5,515
Ramón Hernández Lost Race 9,082
Virgilio Rayneri Lost Race 7,488
Modesto Gómez Rubio Lost Race 6,920
Ibrahim Urquiaga Arrastía Lost Race 7,963

Candidates for Representatives of Matanzas Province

National Conservative Party
Candidates Status Votes
Gustavo G. Menocal Deon Incumbent Winner 19,434
Domingo Lecuona Mádam Won Race 21,761
Alfredo González Benard Incumbent Loser 17,474
Miguel Arango Mantilla Incumbent Loser 18,521
Eduardo García Vigoa Lost Race 14,872
Liberal Party of Cuba
Candidates Status Votes
Nemesio Busto Delgado Incumbent Loser 14,614
Juan Gronlier Sardiñas Won Race 16,006
Celso Cuóllar del Rio*** Incumbent Winner 17,452
Francisco Santiago Hernández Lost Race 13,056
Antonio Génova de Zayas Incumbent Loser 11,975

***Diario de la Marina places Celso with the Liberal Party of Cuba, while Crónica Cubana places him with the Liberal Unionist Party.

Liberal Unionist Party
Candidates Status Votes
Agustín Mederos Lens Lost Race 13,068
Enrique González Gómez Lost Race 6,116
Silverio Sánchez Figueras Lost Race 10,067
Roque E. Garrigó Salido Lost Race 11,385
Fidel Fundora Vega Won Race 15,373

Candidates for Representatives of Santa Clara Province

National Conservative Party
Candidates Status Votes
Joaquín R. Torralbas de la Cruz Incumbent Loser 24,012
Manuel Rivero Gándara Incumbent Winner 48,096
Antonio Cazañas Gómez Lost Race 36,029
Juan Jiménez Casto Palomino Lost Race 33,710
Oscar Soto Calderón de la Barc Incumbent Loser 26,509
Rafael L. Mariscal Domínguez Lost Race 22,421
Carlos Robau López Incumbent Winner 33,953
Rafael Cabrera Sánchez Lost Race 29,326
José A. Hernández Fales Lost Race 26,534
Pedro Pamps Camps Lost Race 39,107
Justo Carrillo Morales Won Race 41,234
Liberal Unionist Party
Candidates Status Votes
Orestes Ferrara Marino Incumbent Winner 54,347
Andrés García Santiago Incumbent Winner 36,550
Antonio Calvo Cárdenas Lost Race 19,553
Roberto Méndez Peñate Lost Race 47,868
Manuel J. Delgado Delgado Incumbent Loser 23,195
André Calleja Capote Lost Race 24,038
Ricardo Campos Martínez Lost Race 38,504
Mario García Madrigal Lost Race 23,880
Fernando J. del Pino Lost Race 27,811
Pablo Lezcano Larrondo Lost Race 24,019
Juan Fuentes Borges Lost Race 19,219
Liberal Party of Cuba
Candidates Status Votes
Eduardo Guzmán Macías Incumbent Loser 2,006
Carlos Calonga López Lost Race 3,890
Félix Arias Segrera Lost Race 1,225
Casimiro Haya Serrano Lost Race 2,603
Fortunato Sánchez Osorio Lost Race 1,139
Ernesto Collado Castillo Lost Race 1,108
Manuel J. de Carrerá Sterling Lost Race 1,193
Isidoro Tristá Pérez Lost Race 1,541
Antonio Rojas Oria Lost Race 1,446
Juan A. Espinosa Espinosa Lost Race 1,182
Andrés Pereira Torres Lost Race 1,244

Other Elected Representatives of Santa Clara Province

  • Roberto Mendez Pendant (ULP)

Candidates for Representatives in Oriente Province

National Conservative Party
Candidates Status Vote
Luis A. Milanés Tamayo Won Race 38,801
Manuel Giraudy Vivar Won Race 32,255
Miguel López García Lost Race 31,199
Pablo G. Menocal Deop Won Race 36,366
Calixto Enamorado Won Race 27,616
Francisco Alvarez Lago Lost Race 23,053
Juan P. Sánchez Silveira Lost Race 18,769
Wilfredo Albanés Peña Lost Race 29,024
Arístides García Gómez Lost Race 26,233
Félix del Prado Jiménez Won Race 35,696
Francisco Gutiérrez Barroso Lost Race 25,378
Eduardo González Manet Lost Race 30,124
Liberal Party of Cuba
Candidates Status Votes
Sebastián Planas Mojena Won Race 26,614
Arturo de Feria Salazar Won Race 32,499
Justo R. Canipiña Incumbent Loser 20,111
Manuel León Valdés Won Race 32,227
Manuel Plana Rodriguez del Rey Lost Race 26,839
Enrique Samuel Duany Won Race 30,046
Ibrahím Arias Gutiérrez Lost Race 30,689
Idelfonso Llamas Cobos Lost Race 17,931
Alberto Duboy Castillo Lost Race 27,078
José R. Barceló Reyes Won Race 37,788
Alberto Castellanos Lost Race 19,065
Rogelio Robianas Arquimbau Lost Race 20,457

Other Elected Representatives of Oriente Province

  • Manuel Diaz Ramirez (Liberal Provincial)
  • Eduardo Beltran Moreno (Liberal Provincial)

Elected Representatives of Camagüey Province

  • Julio C. del Castillo (LPC) (Incumbent)
  • Aurelio Alvarez (NCP)


* Underline indicates that a candidate was elected to a seat in the Senate.

** Votes come from a source that reported on November 6, and may not have been completely tabulated at the time of reporting.

[2][3]

Allegations of Fraud

Although there were initial reportings of a steady and well-organized election, later information would come to dispute that, starting with a controversy regarding whether or not President Mario Menocal should have been allowed to vote, due to him having failed to register in the district that he lived in.[4] Later evidence would come forth showing an election that was tampered with ballot harvesting and voter fraud.

As reported by the Journal Gazette, allegations of fraud were rampant following the conclusion of the election. It was reported that there was a <10% voter turnout, yet the La Habana Province saw a voter turnout of 1,200,000, despite the fact that 7 years prior, the entire population of Cuba was barely above 2,000,000 people.[5] Votes were alleged to be sold in lots for $200. Despite calls for an annulment of the election due to fraud, the election was not recalled.[6] It is generally believed that the election was, at least in party, fraudulent. The Wilkes-Barre Semi-Weekly Record, while not reporting fraud, echoed similar concerns of inconsistency and suspicion regarding population issues in La Habana province.[7]

The Baltimore Sun reported similar claims. 2 days after the election, the 10% voter turnout statistics had been leaked. It was also recorded that some of the alleged voter fraud contained the names of dead men, such as Evaristo Estenoz, who had died a 4 years before the election during the Negro Rebellion. Later, it was reported that the Senate had failed to fill a quorum, and a message written by President Menocal regarding the state of the agricultural sector's economy.[8] Earlier in the year, the Sun had reported on fraudulent votes within the senate, stating that in the process to elect a Speaker of the House back on August 31 had 3 more votes cast than there were members in Congress, leading to more suspicion that the 1914 nationwide election could have been tampered with.[9]

Official Vote Count of La Habana Province**[2]
Party Votes
National Conservative Party 349,115
Liberal Party of Cuba 338,086
Liberal Unionist Party 253,239
National Party of Cuba 89,130
Federal Worker's Party 10,773
Republican Party 36,380
Party for Morale 23,893

References

  1. ^ Dieter Nohlen (2005) Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I, p203 ISBN 978-0-19-928357-6
  2. ^ a b "Año LXXXII Número 307 Edición de la mañana". Diario de la Marina (in Spanish). 6 Nov 1914. p. 8. Retrieved 17 Feb 2023.
  3. ^ Primelles, Leon (1955). "Crónica cubana 1915-1918". archive.org (in Spanish). Talleres Tipográficos de Editorial Lex. pp. 45–47.
  4. ^ "Cuba's Election Tranquil". The Washington Post. 2 Nov 1914. p. 1. Retrieved 19 Feb 2023.
  5. ^ "Censos en Cuba" [Census in Cuba] (PDF) (in Spanish). National Office of Statistics of Cuba. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 March 2013. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
  6. ^ "Frauds in Cuban Election". Journal Gazette. 7 Nov 1914. p. 5. Retrieved 18 Feb 2023.
  7. ^ "Cuba Election Report". Wilkes-Barre Semi-Weekly Record. 13 Nov 1914. p. 4. Retrieved 19 Feb 2023.
  8. ^ "Cuban Election Farce". The Baltimore Sun. 3 Nov 1914. p. 1. Retrieved 18 Feb 2023.
  9. ^ "Congress Ballot "Stuffed"". The Baltimore Sun. 1 Sep 1914. p. 14. Retrieved 19 Feb 2023.