1974 Soviet Union legislative election
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Elections to the Supreme Soviet were held in the Soviet Union on 16 June 1974.[1]
Electoral system
[edit]Candidates had to be nominated by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) or by a public organisation.[2] However, all public organisations were controlled by the party and were subservient to a 1931 law that required them to accept party rule.[2] The CPSU itself remained the only legal one in the country.[3]
Voters could vote against the CPSU candidate, but could only do so by using polling booths, whereas votes for the party could be cast simply by submitting a blank ballot.[2] Turnout was required to be over 50% for the election to be valid.[2]
The 1974 elections were the last held under the 1936 Soviet constitution, which provided for a Supreme Soviet elected for a four-year term and mandated that the Soviet of the Union had one deputy for every 300,000 people.[4] During the Supreme Soviet's term, a new constitution was passed in 1977, which extended the Supreme Soviet's term to five years and made the number of seats in the Soviet of the Union equal to that of the Soviet of Nationalities, regardless of population size.[5][6] Consequently, the term of the Supreme Soviet elected in 1974 was extended by a year, from 1978 to 1979; however, the new composition of the Supreme Soviet, with an equal number of members in each house, was only implemented starting with the 1979 elections.
Candidates
[edit]CPSU candidates accounted for around three quarters of the nominees, whilst many of the others were members of Komsomol.[7]
Results
[edit]Soviet of the Union
[edit]| Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Communist Party of the Soviet Union | 161,355,959 | 99.79 | 562 | 0 | |
| Independents | 205 | 0 | |||
| Against | 333,569 | 0.21 | – | – | |
| Total | 161,689,528 | 100.00 | 767 | 0 | |
| Valid votes | 161,689,528 | 100.00 | |||
| Invalid/blank votes | 84 | 0.00 | |||
| Total votes | 161,689,612 | 100.00 | |||
| Registered voters/turnout | 161,724,222 | 99.98 | |||
| Source: Nohlen & Stöver | |||||
Soviet of Nationalities
[edit]| Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Communist Party of the Soviet Union | 161,443,605 | 99.85 | 534 | 0 | |
| Independents | 216 | 0 | |||
| Against | 245,918 | 0.15 | – | – | |
| Total | 161,689,523 | 100.00 | 750 | 0 | |
| Valid votes | 161,689,523 | 100.00 | |||
| Invalid/blank votes | 89 | 0.00 | |||
| Total votes | 161,689,612 | 100.00 | |||
| Registered voters/turnout | 161,724,222 | 99.98 | |||
| Source: Nohlen & Stöver | |||||
References
[edit]- ^ Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p1642 ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7
- ^ a b c d Nohlen & Stöver, p1630
- ^ Nohlen & Stöver, p1654
- ^ Верховный Совет СССР, Great Soviet Encyclopedia
- ^ Kavass, Igor I.; Christian, Gary I. (July 1979). "The 1977 Soviet Constitution: A Historical Comparison". Vanderbilt Law Review. 12 (3): 533. Retrieved 3 September 2024 – via scholarship.law.vanderbilt.edu.
- ^ Osakwe, Christopher (1979). "The Theories and Realities of Modern Soviet Constitutional Law: An Analysis of the 1977 USSR Constitution". University of Pennsylvania Law Review. 127 (5): 1414. doi:10.2307/3311636. JSTOR 3311636. S2CID 5783531.
- ^ Nohlen & Stöver, p1631
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