1912 Chinese National Assembly election

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1912 Chinese National Assembly elections
← 1909 December 1912 − January 1913 1918 →
All 870 seats in the National Assembly
(274 seats in the Senate and 596 seats in the House of Representatives)
  First party Second party
  Sung Chiao-jen.jpg Li Yuan-hung.jpg
Leader Song Jiaoren Li Yuanhong
Party Nationalist Republican
Senate 132 46
House 269 120
  Third party Fourth party
  Zhang Binglin Vt & Kh 208.jpg Tang Hualong1.jpg
Leader Zhang Binglin Tang Hualong
Party Unity Democratic
Senate 6 8
House 18 16
Premier before election

Zhao Bingjun
Nonpartisan

Elected Premier

Zhao Bingjun
Nonpartisan

The 1912 Chinese National Assembly elections, held in December 1912 to January 1913, were the first elections for the newly founded National Assembly of the Republic of China, which was a bicameral parliament with a Senate and a House of Representatives.

Overview[]

The election was indirect, as voters chose some 30,000 electors who chose about 2,000 members of the provincial assemblies and 596 members of the House of Representatives. This system caused instances of bribery.

The 274-member Senate were elected by the provincial assemblies who themselves had been elected in 1909 during the Qing dynasty.

Adult males over the age of 21 who were educated or owned property and paid taxes, and who could prove a two-year residency in a particular county, could vote.[1] An estimated 40 million or 4-6% of China's population were registered for the election.[2] This was an increase from the size of the electorate in the 1909 Chinese provincial elections, when less than 1% of the population was enfranchised.

The president had to pick the 64 members representing Tibet, Outer Mongolia, and Overseas Chinese due to the fact that the government in Beijing did not exercise enough control over these populations to organize elections. Despite the compromises, this election had the participation of over 300 civic groups and was the first and most competitive nationwide election in Chinese history.

The Kuomintang (Chinese Nationalist Party) led by Song Jiaoren won a plurality in both houses of the assembly, and Song was expected to become the Premier of China.[2] After losing the election, the Republican, Unity, and Democratic (formerly Constitutionalist) parties merged into the Progressive Party with Liang Qichao as leader. The Progressive Party became the main rival to the Nationalists.

Song was assassinated on 20 March 1913 in Shanghai. When the assembly convened for the first time on April 8 amid heated debate over the assassination, the Nationalists were divided over solutions on how to deal with Yuan Shikai, the provisional president, who was suspected of ordering the assassination. On 12 July, Sun Yat-sen led the Nationalists and a faction of provinces into armed rebellion against Yuan, coined the Second Revolution. However, the Second Revolution was completely defeated within two months by Yuan's forces.

The National Assembly members were compromised by threats and bribes from Yuan. He confined the National Assembly and forced them to elect him as the formal president in the October presidential election. Yuan quickly outlawed the Nationalists and expelled them from the assembly. Without a quorum, the National Assembly could not convene, so Yuan disbanded it on 10 January 1914.

Voter and seat distributions[]

The inaugural meeting of the National Assembly in April 1913.
Electoral district Chinese Pinyin Population Voters % House Seats Senate Seats
Chihli 直隸省 Zhílì 25,932,133 9,195,757 35.46 46 10
Fengtien 奉天省 Fèngtiān 12,133,303 896,408 7.39 16 10
Kirin 吉林省 Jílín 5,580,030 108,835 1.95 10 10
Heilungkiang 黑龍江省 Hēilóngjiāng 2,028,776 288,234 14.21 10 10
Shantung 山東省 Shāndōng 30,987,853 1,368,184 4.42 33 10
Honan 河南省 Hénán 35,900,038 1,688,632 4.70 32 10
Shansi 山西省 Shānxī 12,269,386 2,588,068 21.10 28 10
Kiangsu 江蘇省 Jiāngsū 32,282,781 1,939,386 6.01 40 10
Anhwei 安徽省 Ānhuī 16,229,052 1,450,901 8.94 27 10
Kiangsi 江西省 Jiāngxī 23,987,317 4,986,883 20.79 35 10
Fukien 福建省 Fújiàn 15,849,296 1,283,348 8.10 24 10
Chekiang 浙江省 Zhèjiāng 21,440,151 1,184,629 5.53 38 10
Hupeh 湖北省 Húběi 25,590,308 5,670,370 22.16 26 10
Hunan 湖南省 Húnán 27,390,230 1,277,414 4.66 27 10
Shensi 陝西省 Shǎnxī 10,271,096 1,395,622 2.98 21 10
Kansu 甘肅省 Gānsù 4,989,907 148,526 2.98 14 10
Sinkiang 新疆省 Xīnjiāng 2,000,000 9,506 0.48 10 10
Szechwan 四川省 Sìchuān 48,129,596 1,729,368 3.59 35 10
Kwangtung 廣東省 Guǎngdōng 28,010,560 1,966,516 7.02 30 10
Kwangsi 廣西省 Guǎngxī 8,746,747 2,731,717 31.23 19 10
Yunnan 雲南省 Yúnnán 9,466,965 233,398 2.47 22 10
Kweichow 貴州省 Guìzhōu 9,665,227 792,290 8.20 13 10
Mongolia 蒙古選舉會 Ménggǔ — — — 27 27
Tibet 西藏選舉會 Xīzàng — — — 10 10
Tsinghai 青海選舉會 Qīnghǎi — — — 3 3
Oversea Chinese 華僑選舉會 Huáqiáo — — — 0 6
Central Society 中央學會 — — — — 0 8
Total 406,880,486 42,933,992 10.50 596 274

Results[]

1912 Republic of China Senate seat composition by party.svg1912 Republic of China House of Representatives seat composition by party.svg
PartySeats
SenateHouse
Kuomintang132269
Republican Party46120
Unity Party618
Democratic Party816
Multi-party candidates38147
Independents4426
Total274596

Presidential elections in National Assembly[]

An important function of the National Assembly under the Provisional Constitution of the Republic of China was to elect the President and Vice President of China. The following elections were held by the 1st National Assembly of Beiyang government.

Presidential elections by the National Assembly elected in 1912—13
Order Presidential Election President Vice President Note
1st 1913 Chinese presidential election Yuan Shikai Li Yuanhong First formal presidential election in Chinese history
1916 Chinese vice-presidential election — Feng Guozhang To replace the vacancy of Li Yuanhong as he sworn in as the President after Yuan Shikai's death.
3rd 1923 Chinese presidential election Cao Kun — Resumed session after First Zhili–Fengtian War
  • The 2nd Presidential election was held by the 2nd National Assembly elected in 1918

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Cambridge History of China, Vol 12, Part 1: 222-223
  2. ^ a b Young, Ernest P. ""Politics in the Aftermath of Revolution: The Era of Yuan Shih-K'ai, 1912-16"". Cambridge History of China, Vol 12, Part 1. p. 222.

Bibliography[]

  • Twitchett, Denis; Fairbank, John K, eds. (1983). The Cambridge History of China. Vol. Volume 12, Part 1. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-23541-9. {{cite book}}: |volume= has extra text (help)
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