Romanian general election, 1939
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
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