Parliamentary elections were held in the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia from 19 to 22 May 1897. The People's Party emerged as the victor.

Background

The 1897 elections were held during the autocratic rule of Croatian ban

Károly Khuen-Héderváry Count Károly Khuen-Héderváry de Hédervár, born as ''Károly Khuen de Belás'' ( hr, Dragutin Khuen-Héderváry, 23 May 1849 – 16 February 1918) was a Hungarian politician and the Ban of the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia in the late ninet ...

. His primary task as the ban of Croatia was to preserve the Croatian-Hungarian union. Héderváry had maintained good relations with the Hungarian

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

, while he relied on the People's Party in Croatia to maintain the status quo. Héderváry's supporters had won the parliament majority in each of the three previous elections held during his reign, in 1884, 1887 and 1892. At the time of the election, the People's Party held the parliamentary majority. Under the electoral law, only 2% of the nation's citizens could vote, i.e. men over thirty years old, who could pay 30

forints The forint ( sign Ft; code HUF) is the currency of Hungary. It was formerly divided into 100 fillér, but fillér coins are no longer in circulation. The introduction of the forint on 1 August 1946 was a crucial step in the post-World War II sta ...

in tax. Furthermore, Héderváry had gerrymandered the districts to favour different ethnic groups and resorted to

divide and rule Divide and rule policy ( la, divide et impera), or divide and conquer, in politics and sociology is gaining and maintaining power divisively. Historically, this strategy was used in many different ways by empires seeking to expand their ter ...

policies, stoking antagonism between the

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...

and the

Croats The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, ...

, as he suspected that any cooperation between them might threaten Austro-Hungarian interests in the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

and allow expansion of the Kingdom of Serbia into the empire's territories inhabited by the

South Slavs South Slavs are Slavic peoples who speak South Slavic languages and inhabit a contiguous region of Southeast Europe comprising the eastern Alps and the Balkan Peninsula. Geographically separated from the West Slavs and East Slavs by Austria, ...

. Ban Khuen-Héderváry was unpopular with large groups of Croatian citizens for several reasons: he had suppressed Croatian nationalism, aimed at magyarization of the railways and administration, imposing the Hungarian language at schools, settling Hungarian people in areas of Croatia, as well as lessening local autonomy.

Campaign

The People's Party presented itself as allies of Héderváry and the

Croatian-Hungarian Party Croatian-Hungarian Party ( hr, Hrvatsko-ugarska stranka) was the name of a 19th-century political party in the Habsburg Kingdom of Croatia and the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia which advocated closer ties between Croatia and Hungary. It was official ...

. The opposition to the People's Party was at the time fragmented, as the Croatian Party of Rights had split into three groups: the Croatian Party of Rights, the Independent Croatian Party of Rights and the Pure Croatian Party of Rights. In August 1986, the main branch of the Croatian Party of Rights and the Independent People's Party formed a coalition. Another opposition party was the

Social Democratic Party of Croatia and Slavonia The Social Democratic Party of Croatia and Slavonia ( hr, Socijaldemokratska stranka Hrvatske i Slavonije or 'SDSHiS') was a social-democratic political party in the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia. The party was active from 1894 until 1916. Histor ...

; however, due to their small size they were not a major player in the elections.

Results

Elected representatives

Party of Rights

Josip Frank Josip Frank (16 April 1844 – 17 December 1911) was a Croatian lawyer and politician, a noted representative of the Party of Rights in the Croatian Parliament, and a vocal advocate of Croatian national independence in Austria-Hungary. Early l ...

* Mile Starčević

Sources

*Ivo Perić: Hrvatski državni sabor: 1848-2000, GIPA, Zagreb 2002.

References

{{Croatian elections Elections in Croatia

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

1897 in Croatia Elections in Austria-Hungary May 1897 events Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia Election and referendum articles with incomplete results