1946 Czechoslovak parliamentary election

1946 Czechoslovak parliamentary election
Czechoslovakia
← 1935 26 May 1946 1948 →
All 300 seats in the Constituent National Assembly
151 seats needed for a majority
Turnout93.86%
Party Leader Vote % Seats +/–
KSČ Klement Gottwald 31.19 93 +63
ČSNS Petr Zenkl 18.37 55 +27
ČSL Jan Šrámek 15.71 46 +24
DS Jozef Lettrich 14.14 43 New
ČSSD Zdeněk Fierlinger 12.10 37 −1
KSS Štefan Bašťovanský 6.92 21 New
SS Vavro Šrobár 0.85 3 New
SP Ivan Frlička 0.71 2 New
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.
Prime Minister before Prime Minister after
Zdeněk Fierlinger
ČSSD		 Klement Gottwald
KSČ

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 ever achieved in a Czechoslovak parliamentary election; previously, no party had ever won more than 25%. Voter turnout was 94%.[2] The national results also determined the composition of the Slovak National Council and local committees.

This was one of only two free nationwide 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 forced President Edvard Beneš to appoint a Communist-dominated government.[4] As a result, the 1946 election was the last free and fair election held in Czechoslovakia until 1990.[5]

  1. ^ Nohlen, Dieter; Stöver, Philip (2010). Elections in Europe: A data handbook. p. 471. ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7.
  2. ^ Nohlen & Stöver, p. 472
  3. ^ Andorka, Rudolf et al. A Society Transformed, p.8. Central European University Press (1999), ISBN 963-9116-49-1
  4. ^ Jolyon Naegele (23 February 1998). "Czech Republic: Fiftieth Anniversary Of Communist Coup Observed". Radio Free Europe.
  5. ^ 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.