1990 Czechoslovak parliamentary election
Parliamentary elections were held in Czechoslovakia on 8 and 9 June 1990,[1] alongside elections for the Czech and Slovak Assemblies.[2] They were the first elections held in the country since the end of Communist rule seven months earlier, and the first free elections since 1946.
The result was a victory for the Civic Forum, which won 68 of the 150 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 50 of the 150 seats in the House of Nations. Its Slovak counterpart, Public Against Violence, won 19 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 33 in the House of Nations.[2] It also won 36% of the vote for the Chamber of Deputies, the most a Czechoslovakian party won in a free election.
The two wings of Václav Havel's movement commanded a strong majority in the legislature, [3] with 87 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 83 in the House of Nations between them. It is the only time that a Czechoslovakian party or party family won an outright majority of seats in a free election. Voter turnout was 96.2%.[2] The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, running in an honest election for the first time in 44 years, made a stronger showing than expected, taking 13 percent of the vote in both chambers to finish second behind Civic Forum.[3]
Although Civic Forum and Public Against Violence had more than enough seats between them to govern without the support of other parties, they sought a broader base. They let it be known that they were willing to go into coalition with all parties except the Communists and the Slovak National Party.[3]
Results
Chamber of Deputies
Party | Votes | % | Seats |
---|---|---|---|
Civic Forum | 3,851,172 | 36.2 | 68 |
Communist Party of Czechoslovakia | 1,445,407 | 13.6 | 23 |
Public Against Violence | 1,104,125 | 10.4 | 19 |
Christian Democratic Movement | 644,008 | 6.1 | 11 |
Christian and Democratic Union | 629,359 | 5.9 | 9 |
Movement for Autonomous Democracy–Party for Moravia and Silesia | 572,015 | 5.4 | 9 |
Slovak National Party | 372,025 | 3.5 | 6 |
Alliance of Farmers and the Countryside | 360,779 | 3.4 | 0 |
Social Democracy | 342,455 | 3.2 | 0 |
Green Party | 332,974 | 3.1 | 0 |
Coexistence–Hungarian Christian Democratic Movement | 296,575 | 2.8 | 5 |
Czechoslovak Socialist Party | 201,532 | 1.9 | 0 |
Democratic Party | 149,310 | 1.4 | 0 |
People's Democratic Party–Rally for the Republic | 76,338 | 0.7 | 0 |
Free Bloc | 64,070 | 0.6 | 0 |
Freedom Party | 49,012 | 0.5 | 0 |
VSZS | 47,971 | 0.5 | 0 |
Czechoslovakian Democratic Forum | 23,428 | 0.2 | 0 |
Rómovia | 22,670 | 0.2 | 0 |
HOS | 22,165 | 0.2 | 0 |
Movement of Czechoslovakian Understanding | 21,979 | 0.2 | 0 |
Friends of Beer Party | 8,943 | 0.1 | 0 |
Invalid/blank votes | 136,929 | – | – |
Total | 10,775,125 | 100 | 150 |
Source: Nohlen & Stöver |
House of Nations
Party | Votes | % | Seats |
---|---|---|---|
Civic Forum | 3,613,513 | 34.0 | 50 |
Communist Party of Czechoslovakia | 1,452,659 | 13.7 | 24 |
Public Against Violence | 1,262,278 | 11.9 | 33 |
Movement for Autonomous Democracy–Party for Moravia and Silesia | 658,477 | 6.2 | 7 |
Christian and Democratic Union | 633,053 | 6.0 | 6 |
Christian Democratic Movement | 564,172 | 5.3 | 14 |
Slovak National Party | 387,387 | 3.6 | 9 |
Alliance of Farmers and the Countryside | 359,474 | 3.4 | 0 |
Social Democracy | 352,678 | 3.3 | 0 |
Green Party | 336,310 | 3.2 | 0 |
Coexistence–Hungarian Christian Democratic Movement | 287,426 | 2.7 | 7 |
Czechoslovak Socialist Party | 210,735 | 2.0 | 0 |
Democratic Party | 124,561 | 1.2 | 0 |
Free Bloc | 84,553 | 0.8 | 0 |
People's Democratic Party–Rally for the Republic | 79,324 | 0.8 | 0 |
VSZS | 54,916 | 0.5 | 0 |
Freedom Party | 42,111 | 0.4 | 0 |
Czechoslovakian Democratic Forum | 32,543 | 0.3 | 0 |
Movement of Czechoslovakian Understanding | 25,672 | 0.2 | 0 |
HOS | 22,124 | 0.2 | 0 |
Rómovia | 20,445 | 0.2 | 0 |
Friends of Beer Party | 13,869 | 0.1 | 0 |
Invalid/blank votes | 139,731 | – | – |
Total | 10,758,011 | 100 | 150 |
Source: Nohlen & Stöver |
References
- ^ Nohlen, D & Stöver, P (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p471 ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7
- ^ a b c Nohlen & Stöver, p472
- ^ a b c 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.