Parliamentary elections were held in Andorra on 31 August 1933,[1] the first held under universal male suffrage. The extension of the franchise to all men over 21 followed social unrest referred to as the Andorran Revolution.[2] As political parties were not legalised until 1993, all candidates ran as independents.[3]
The elections, called by the co-princes, took place amid the occupation of the country by French gendarmes. The police had arrived after the General Council approved universal male suffrage – until then only the heads of household could vote – forced by the occupation of the Casa de la Vall on 5 April by the Young Andorrans. The Tribunal de Corts subsequently dismissed the General Council elected in 1932. Faced with the Council's resistance to dissolution, however, the co-princes sent a contingent of gendarmes to Andorra on 19 August and ordered the elections to be held on 31 August.[4]
The interpretation of the results is complicated because there were no formal political parties, instead councilors were linked to groups that could vary in opinion.[5] The day after the elections, the press reported 14 seats had been won by the Integral Nationalist Group (GNI), conservative supporters of the co-princes; five seats had been won by the Andorran Union (UA), supporters of the deposed General Council, and four had been won by socialists.[6] However, an undated document from the Permanent Delegation French also registered a majority of "anti-episcopal" councilors unfavorable to the co-princes.[7]
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