General elections were held in Romania in June 1939.[1] The Chamber of Deputies was elected on 1 June, whilst the Senate was elected a day later.[1] They were the first since the introduction of the royal dictatorship of King Carol II under the 1938 constitution. Voters were presented with a single list from the National Renaissance Front, which had been the only legally permitted party in Romania since December.[2]
Electoral system
The new electoral system saw voters elect candidates in eleven constituencies.[3] Within the constituencies voters and candidates were divided into groups based on their occupations, and could only vote or stand in those groups.[3] Each constituency having between five and ten seats per occupational group.[3] The number of seats for each group was the same in every constituency even if the number of voters was different, leading to the over-representation of some groups, including the Industry and Commerce group.[3] Voters had as many votes as there were seats available.[3] The number of seats in the Chamber of Deputies was reduced from 387 to 258, whilst the number of Senate seats fell from 113 to 88.[4]
The voting age was also raised from 21 to 30,[3] whilst opposition parties were banned.[5]
