Romanian general election, 1939

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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]

Results

Party Chamber Senate
Votes % Seats Votes % Seats
National Renaissance Front 1,587,514 100 258 88
Invalid/blank votes 78,045
Total 1,665,559 100 258 808
Registered voters/turnout
Source: Nohlen & Stöver

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Nohlen, D & Stöver, P (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p1591 ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7
  2. Nohlen & Stöver, p1603
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Nohlen & Stöver, p1582
  4. Nohlen & Stöver, pp1610-1611
  5. Nohlen & Stöver, p1580