1903 Japanese general election

1903 Japanese general election

1 March 1903
All 376 seats in the House of Representatives 189 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party   Leader Saionji Kinmochi Ōkuma Shigenobu Party Rikken Seiyūkai Kensei Hontō Last election 50.40%, 191 seats 25.68%, 95 seats Seats won 175 85 Seat change 16 10 Popular vote 373,022 218,689 Percentage 45.42% 26.63% Swing 4.98pp 0.95pp
Prime Minister before election Katsura Tarō Independent Prime Minister after election Katsura Tarō Independent

General elections were held in Japan on 1 March 1903.^[1] The Rikken Seiyūkai party remained the largest in the House of Representatives, winning 175 of the 376 seats, but lost its majority.

Electoral system

The 376 members of the House of Representatives were elected in 51 multi-member constituencies based on prefectures and cities. Voting was restricted to men aged over 25 who paid at least 10 yen a year in direct taxation.^[2]

Campaign

A total of 537 candidates contested the 376 seats.

Results

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Rikken Seiyūkai	373,022	45.42	175	–16
	Kensei Hontō	218,689	26.63	85	–10
	Chūsei Club	37,070	4.51	31	New
	Teikokutō	34,811	4.24	17	0
	Seiyū Club	24,129	2.94	13	New
	Jinin Kai	2,748	0.33	0	–28
	Dōshi Club	1,517	0.18	0	–13
	Others	129,313	15.74	55	+23
Total		821,299	100.00	376	0
Valid votes		821,299	99.09
Invalid/blank votes		7,527	0.91
Total votes		828,826	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		958,322	86.49
Source: Mackie & Rose, Voice Japan

References

1. Thomas T Mackie & Richard Rose (1991) The International Almanac of Electoral History, Macmillan, p281
2. Mackie & Rose, p276