Romanian legislative election, 1948
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First page of Monitorul Oficial, official government gazette, having a Democratic People's Front ad
Parliamentary elections were held in Romania on 28 March 1948.[1] They were the first elections held under undisguised Communist rule; King Michael had been forced to abdicate in December.[2]
With all meaningful opposition having been eliminated, the People's Democratic Front, dominated by the Communist Romanian Workers Party (as the Communist Party had been renamed after merging with the Social Democrats)[2] received 93.2% of the vote[3] and won 405 of the 414 seats in the Great National Assembly.[4]
The Communists, with the help of fellow traveler Prime Minister Petru Groza, had spent the previous two years after the rigged elections of 1946 consolidating their control. The turning point came in the second half of 1947, with the elimination of the largest remaining true opposition parties in the country. The National Peasants' Party was banned outright, while the National Liberal Party was intimidated into dissolving itself. The National Peasants' leaders, Iuliu Maniu and Ion Mihalache, were tried on charges of plotting to overthrow the government in the Tămădău Affair, and were both sentenced to life imprisonment. On 30 December, Groza and Communist Party boss Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej confronted Michael and prompted his abdication.[2] Michael and his personal counselor would later claim this was done with the help of a detachment of troops from the pro-Communist Tudor Vladimirescu Division.[5][6][7][8] Hours later, the left-wing legislature abolished the monarchy and proclaimed Romania a "people's republic", thus marking the culmination of the Communists' four-year drive from being a banned party to complete power. A month before the elections, the Communists and the Social Democrats had merged to form the Romanian Workers' Party. However, the few independent-minded Social Democrats were gradually pushed out, leaving the PMR as essentially the PCR under a new name.
From 30 December onward, Romania was effectively a one-party state. However, rump Liberal and Peasant parties appeared on the ballot. Between them, they won 3.5 percent of the vote and nine seats. As a result, this would be the last election in Romania where opposition parties were even nominally allowed to take part until the fall of Communism.
Results
| Party | Votes | % | Seats |
|---|---|---|---|
People's Democratic Front[a] | 6,959,936 | 93.22 | 405 |
| National Liberal Party–Bejan | 212,438 | 2.8 | 7 |
| Democratic Peasants' Party–Lupu | 50,532 | 0.7 | 2 |
| Independent candidates | 245,635 | 3.3 | 0 |
| Invalid/blank votes | 192,490 | – | – |
| Total | 7,661,031 | 100 | 414 |
| Registered voters/turnout | 8,399,416 | 91.2 | – |
| Source: Nohlen & Stöver | |||
a Within the People's Democratic Front, the Romanian Workers Party won 190 seats, PMR affiliates won 11, the Ploughmen's Front won 126, the National Popular Party won 43, the Hungarian People's Union won 30, and the Jewish Democratic Committee won five.[9]
References
^ Nohlen, D & Stöver, P (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p1591 .mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7
^ abc Romania: Elimination of Opposition Parties Library of Congress Country Studies
^ Nohlen & Stöver, p1604
^ Nohlen & Stöver, p1610
^ (in Romanian) "King Michael between the ascension to the throne and abdication – VII", Ziarul financiar, 24 June 2001
^ (in Romanian) The Republic was installed by way of the gun at the Wayback Machine (archived 27 October 2009), undated interview with H.M. King Michael in Ziua, as of 15 October 2008
^ "Compression", Time, 12 January 1948
^ (in Romanian) Mircea Ionnitiu : "30 December 1947", site dedicated to HM King Mihai I of Romania and to the Romanian Monarchy as of 15 October 2008
^ Cristian Preda - "Rumânii fericiţi"
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