Under the shadow of the Russian
Revolution of 1905 and large-scale demonstrations organized by the
Social Democrats, the emperor to placate the public had a reform of the former five-class
suffrage system, drafted by Minister-President
Paul Gautsch von Frankenthurn. His successor,
Baron Max Wladimir von Beck, pushed it through against fierce resistance from the Austrian
House of Lords and the heir to the throne,
Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Elections in the constituencies of "the Kingdoms and Lands represented in the Imperial Council" were held according to a
two-round system. If no candidate received the required absolute majority on May 14, only the two candidates receiving the most votes survived to the second round. on May 23. The 516 representatives of the constituent crown lands were thus elected, 130 from
Bohemia, 106 from
Galicia, 64 from
Lower Austria and 49 from
Moravia. The numerous political associations were again split according to ethnicity ("nations"), with a result that no government could ever rely on a stable majority. ==Results==