21, that of cities 118, and that of the rural communities 128. Overall, only 6% of the population of the Empire could vote in these elections. Tax requirements for entry into the curiae remained the same, but was lowered to five guilders in 1883. On October 10, 1893, minister-president Eduard Taaffe, 11th Viscount Taaffe submitted a bill in the House of Deputies that intended to abolish the fourth curia, and introduce universal suffrage in the third curia for those men below the five guilder threshold. This was fervently opposed, and was not passed into law. Despite this, the number of deputies was increased to 425 on 14 June 1896 through reforms by minister-president Count Kasimir Felix Badeni. A fifth curia was added, which granted universal suffrage to all men over the age of 24. This curia elected 72 deputies, shifting the balance of power away from the nobility. Minister-president Paul Gautsch von Frankenthurn introduced the final electoral reform in the history of the House of Deputies in 1906, after mass demonstrations by the rising Social Democratic Party, and despite fierce opposition in the House of Lords. Universal suffrage for men was introduced, and the curia system was abolished. The number of deputies was raised to 516, and seats were allotted once again based on the crown lands. Universal suffrage allowed greater representation for members of the working class, and diminished the power of the German-speaking bourgeoisie. Whilst this was an advance for democracy, it resulted in the splintering of the House of Deputies into numerous factions based on nationality and ideology, which made it dysfunctional. Throughout its existence, the effectiveness of the Imperial Council suffered heavily from conflicts between and within the numerous constituent nationalities of the Empire. Governments of Cisleithania had to rely on loose ad hoc alliances, often with the support of the Polish representatives (Polenklub), and there were as many as 29 Minister-Presidents between 1867 and 1918. Dissolution From the July Crisis in 1914, the Imperial Council was suspended. It remained so for the duration of the First World War, until it was finally reconvened in May 1917. It was permanently dissolved on 12 November 1918, the day after the de facto abdication of Emperor Charles. See also Diet of Hungary Imperial Diet (Austria) Moravian Diet Parliament of Croatia Footnotes References External links AEIOU Encyclopedia on Reichsrat (Imperial Council) Website of the Austrian parliament AEIOU Encyclopedia on