1946 Czechoslovak parliamentary election

Parliamentary elections were held in Czechoslovakia on 26 May 1946.[1] The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia emerged as the largest party, winning 114 of the 300 seats (93 for the main party and 21 for its Slovak branch) with 38% of the vote; the Communist vote share was higher than any party had achieved in any previous Czechoslovak election, with no party having previously received more than 25%. Voter turnout was 93.9%.[2] The national results also determined the composition of the Slovak National Council and local committees.

1946 Czechoslovak parliamentary election
26 May 1946 (1946-05-26)
All 300 seats in the Constituent National Assembly
151 seats needed for a majority
Turnout93.9%
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Klement Gottwald Petr Zenkl Jan Šrámek
Party KSČ ČSNS ČSL
Seats after 93 55 46
Seat change 63 27 24
Popular vote 2,205,697 1,298,980 1,111,009
Percentage 31.2% 18.4% 15.7%
  Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party
 
Leader Jozef Lettrich Zdeněk Fierlinger Štefan Bašťovanský
Party DS ČSSD KSS
Seats after 43 37 21
Seat change 43 1 21
Popular vote 999,622 855,538 489,596
Percentage 14.1% 12.1% 6.9%
  Seventh party Eighth party
 
Leader Vavro Šrobár Ivan Frlička
Party SS SP
Seats after 3 2
Seat change 3 2
Popular vote 60,195 50,079
Percentage 0.9% 0.7%
Prime Minister before election

Zdeněk Fierlinger
ČSSD

 Elected Prime Minister

Klement Gottwald
KSČ

This was one of only two free elections held in the Eastern Bloc, the other having been held in Hungary a year earlier.[3] Two years later, the Communists staged a coup d'etat and established an undisguised Communist regime. As a result, the 1946 election was the last free election held in Czechoslovakia until 1990.[4]

Background

After World War II, a 300-member Interim National Assembly was formed and met for the first time on 28 October 1945.[5] The Assembly created a new electoral system with the country divided into 28 multi-member constituencies.[6] 150 members were elected from Bohemia, 81 from Moravia and Silesia and 69 from Slovakia. The voting age was lowered to 18, but only Czechs, Slovaks and other Slavs could register to vote.[5]

Opinion polls
Date Polling firm KSČ ČSNS ČSL ČSSD Blank
votes		 Notes
April 1946 ÚVVM[7] 39.6 22.5 19.2 16.0 2.7 Only Bohemia and Moravia

Results
Party Votes % Seats +/–
Communist Party of Czechoslovakia2,205,69731.293+63
Czechoslovak National Social Party1,298,98018.455+27
Czechoslovak People's Party1,111,00915.746+24
Democratic Party999,62214.143New
Czechoslovak Social Democracy855,53812.137–1
Communist Party of Slovakia489,5966.921New
Freedom Party60,1950.93New
Labour Party50,0790.72New
Invalid/blank votes59,427–––
Total7,130,1431003000
Source: Nohlen & Stöver

Aftermath

Following the elections, Communist leader Klement Gottwald formed a coalition government. However, the Communists gradually tightened their grip on the country. After the non-Communist members resigned from the Cabinet on 25 February 1948, the Communists seized full control of the country.[8][9]

References
  1. Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p471 ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7
  2. Nohlen & Stöver, p472
  3. Andorka, Rudolf et al. A Society Transformed, p.8. Central European University Press (1999), ISBN 963-9116-49-1
  4. Kamm, Henry. Now, the Czech Reality; Political 'Amateurs,' After Free Elections, Turn to Problems Left by the Communists. The New York Times, 1990-06-11.
  5. Nohlen & Stöver, p464
  6. "Zákon č. 67/1946 sb. o volbě ústavodárného Národního shromáždění" (in Czech). Zakonyprolidi.cz. 18 April 1946. Retrieved 19 August 2017.
  7. mínění, Ústav pro výzkum veřejného (1946). "Výzkum Volby I. - 3/1946 duben ÚVVM/CVVM". Invenio Nusl (in Czech). Retrieved 26 January 2018.
  8. Nohlen & Stöver, p457
  9. Stupka, Jiří (2012). "Parlamentní volby v roce 1946 – odraz na stránkách ústředních tiskových orgánů politických stran" (PDF) (in Czech). Masaryk University. Retrieved 19 August 2017.
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