1952 Romanian parliamentary election

Parliamentary elections were held in Romania on 30 November 1952.[1] They were the second held under communist rule, and the first under a constitution adopted that September.[2] They were also the first held after longtime Prime Minister Petru Groza handed the post to Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej, who as leader of the communist Romanian Workers' Party (PMR) had been the country's de facto leader since the communists seized full power in 1947.

1952 Romanian parliamentary election

← 1948 30 November 1952 1957 →

All 428 seats in the Great National Assembly
Turnout97.91%
  First party
 
Leader Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej
Party PMR
Alliance FDP
Seats won 428
Seat change Increase 23
Popular vote 10,187,833
Percentage 100.00%
Swing Increase 6.81pp

Prime Minister before election

Gheorghe
Gheorghiu-Dej

PMR

Elected Prime Minister

Gheorghe
Gheorghiu-Dej

PMR

Voters were presented with a single slate of candidates from the People's Democratic Front (FDP), which was dominated by PMR.[3] The Front won all 428 seats in the Great National Assembly.[4] This election set the tone for all elections held in Romania until 1989. For the remainder of the communist era, voters only had the choice of approving or rejecting a communist-dominated list.

Electoral system

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The new constitution was promulgated on 24 September 1952 and three days later a new electoral law was passed.[5] Under the new system candidates were elected in single member constituencies, and had to receive over 50% of the vote. If no candidate passed this threshold, or if voter turnout in the constituency was less than 50%, re-runs were held until the requirements were met.[5] Candidates could be nominated by the FDP or mass organisations, although the latter were monitored by the Front.[5]

Results

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428
PartyVotes%Seats
People's Democratic Front10,187,833100.00428
Total10,187,833100.00428
Valid votes10,187,83398.40
Invalid/blank votes165,6561.60
Total votes10,353,489100.00
Registered voters/turnout10,574,47597.91
Source: Nohlen & Stöver

References

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  1. ^ Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p1591 ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7
  2. ^ Nohlen & Stöver, p1604
  3. ^   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. Sergiu Verona (July 1989). "Government and Politics". In Bachman, Ronald D (ed.). Romania: a country study. Federal Research Division, Library of Congress. LCCN 90006449.
  4. ^ Nohlen & Stöver, p1612
  5. ^ a b c Nohlen & Stöver, p1583