The election was held in the wake of the Spanish crisis of 1917, a series of events that threatened the government and the Restoration system by posing a three-way challenge: military (the Defence Juntas, a military union movement created without the approval of the Spanish legislature), political (the Assembly of Parliamentarians in Barcelona demanding a recognition of regional autonomy) and social (the 1917 general strike in response to the worsening living conditions of the working classes).

These three challenges were aggravated by the rising cost of living and high inflation rates resulting from the economic boom sparked by Spain's neutrality in World War I and an uneven redistribution of national income.

[2][3] Voting for the Cortes was on the basis of compulsory, universal manhood suffrage, which comprised all national males over 25 years of age, having at least a two-year residency in a municipality and in full enjoyment of their civil rights.

The remaining 30 were allocated to special districts comprising a number of institutions, electing one seat each—the archdioceses of Burgos, Granada, Santiago de Compostela, Seville, Tarragona, Toledo, Valencia, Valladolid and Zaragoza; the Royal Spanish Academy; the royal academies of History, Fine Arts of San Fernando, Exact and Natural Sciences, Moral and Political Sciences and Medicine; the universities of Madrid, Barcelona, Granada, Oviedo, Salamanca, Santiago, Seville, Valencia, Valladolid and Zaragoza; and the economic societies of Friends of the Country from Madrid, Barcelona, León, Seville and Valencia.

[20] The Spanish Constitution of 1876 enshrined Spain as a constitutional monarchy, awarding the monarch the right of legislative initiative together with the bicameral Cortes; the capacity to veto laws passed by the legislative body; the power to appoint senators and government ministers; as well as the title of commander-in-chief of the army and navy.

The monarch would play a key role in the system of el turno pacífico (English: the Peaceful Turn) by appointing and dismissing governments and allowing the opposition to take power.