 | ||||
← 1935
|
24–25 May 1946
|
1950 →
| ||
| All 300 seats in the Chamber of Deputies 151 seats needed for a majority All 150 seats to the Chamber of Nations | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First party | Second party | |||
|
|
|||
| Leader | Václav Majer | Josef Černý | ||
| Party | ČSSD | RS | ||
| Last election | 38 seats, 12.55% | 45 seats, 14.3% | ||
| Seats won | 101 / 300 |
70 / 300 | ||
| Seat change | ▲ 63 seats | ▲ 25 seats | ||
| Popular vote | 2,349,411 | 1,631,984 | ||
| Percentage | 33.20% | 23.06% | ||
| Swing | ▲ 20.65% | ▲ 8.76% | ||
| ||||
| Winning party by district (Red: ČSSD, Green: RS, Dark Red: Communist, Yellow: ČSL, Blue: SĽS, Pink: ČSNS) | ||||
Prime Minister before election
Jan Šrámek ČSL | ||||
Federal elections were held in Czechoslovakia on 25 and 26 May 1946, the first following World War II and the end of the German occupation. It was also the first election held under the new federal constitution of 25 April 1946. All 300 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and all 150 seats Chamber of Nations were up for election, with MPs elected by party-list proportional representation and senators elected by first-past-the-post voting.
The Czechoslovak Social Democratic Party emerged as the largest party, winning 101 of the 300 seats with 33.20% of the vote. This was the best performance for a Czechoslovak party up to that time; previously no Czechoslovak party had ever won more than 25 percent of the vote. Voter turnout was 93.8%. The Social Democratic chairman Václav Majer formed a cabinet of national unity together with the other parties of the National Front of Czechs and Slovaks: the Republican Party (RS), the Czechoslovak People's Party (ČSL), the Slovak People's Party (SĽS), the Czechoslovak National Social Party (ČSNS), and the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČ).
Background
After World War II a 300-member interim National Assembly was formed and met for the first time on 28 October 1945. A new federal constitution was adopted by the interim National Assembly on 25 April 1946 and replaced the constitution adopted on 29 February 1920.
The Assembly also created a new electoral system with the country divided into 14 multi-member constituencies. The voting age was lowered to 18, but only Czechs, Slovaks and other Slavs could register to vote.
Results
Chamber of Deputies
| ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parties | Votes | % | ± | Seats | ± | |||
| Czechoslovak Social Democratic Party (ČSSD) | 2,214,621 | 31.50% | ▲ 19.35% | 95 | ▲ 57 | |||
| Republican Party (RS) | 1,841,358 | 26.19% | ▲ 11.90% | 79 | ▲ 34 | |||
| ČSL/SĽS | Czechoslovak People's Party (ČSL) | 724,353 | 10.30% | ▲ 2.82% | 31 | ▲ 9 | ||
| Slovak People's Party (SĽS) | 409,127 | 5.82% | ▼ 1.04% | 18 | ▼ 4 | |||
| Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČ) | 1,131,191 | 16.09% | ▲ 5.77% | 48 | ▲ 18 | |||
| Czechoslovak Socialist Party (ČSS) | 674,912 | 9.60% | ▲ 0.42% | 29 | ▲ 1 | |||
| Blank or invalid votes | 35,444 | 0.50% | ||||||
| Total (Turnout: 93.00% – electorate: 7,560,608) | 7,031,006 | 100.0% | 300 | |||||
| Turnout in the Czech Federative Republic – electorate: 5,744,355 | 5,388,205 | 93.80% | ||||||
| Turnout in the Slovak Federative Republic – electorate: 1,816,253 | 1,642,801 | 90.45% | ||||||
| 48 | 101 | 27 | 32 | 22 | 70 |
| KSČ | ČSSD | ČSNS | ČSL | SĽS | RS |
Results by state
| Republic | ČSSD | RS | ČSL | SĽS | KSČ | ČSS | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Czechia
|
1,768,493 | 32.96% | ||||||||||||
 Slovakia
|
499,428 | 30.64% | ||||||||||||
Chamber of Nations
| ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parties | Votes | % of votes | Seats | |||
| Czechia
| ||||||
| Czechoslovak Social Democratic Party (Československá strana sociálně demokratická) (ČSSD) | 1,673,231 | 35.10% | 30 | |||
| Republican Party (Republikánská strana') (RS) | 1,193,190 | 25.03% | 21 | |||
| Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (Komunistická strana Československa) (KSČ) | 745,565 | 15.64% | 11 | |||
| Czechoslovak People's Party (Československá strana lidová) (ČSL) | 595,880 | 12.50% | 10 | |||
| Czechoslovak National Social Party (Československá strana národně sociální) (ČSNS) | 559,174 | 11.73% | 3 | |||
| Invalid or blank votes | 22,030 | 0,46% | N/A | |||
| Total in the Czech Federative Republic (Turnout: 83.37% – electorate: 5,744,355) | 4,789,069 | 100.00% | 75 | |||
| Slovakia
| ||||||
| Czechoslovak Social Democratic Party (Československá strana sociálně demokratická) (ČSSD) | 469,811 | 32,51% | 29 | |||
| Slovak People's Party (Slovenská ľudová strana) (SĽS) | 416,341 | 28,81% | 20 | |||
| Republican Party (Republikánská strana') (RS) | 346,831 | 24,00% | 17 | |||
| Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (Komunistická strana Československa) (KSČ) | 191,624 | 13,26% | 9 | |||
| Czechoslovak National Social Party (Československá strana národně sociální) (ČSNS) | 20,521 | 1.42% | 0 | |||
| Invalid or blank votes | 11,507 | 0,79% | N/A | |||
| Total in the Slovak Federative Republic (Turnout: 80,2% – electorate: 1,816,253) | 1,456,635 | 100.00% | 75 | |||
|
| ||||||
| Total (Turnout: 82,61% – electorate: 7,560,608) | 6,245,704 | 100.0% | 150 | |||
Aftermath and government formation
See also
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
