Estonian parliamentary election, 1938

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Parliamentary elections were held in Estonia on 24 and 25 February 1938. [1] The National Front for the Implementation of the Constitution was the only party to contest the election, and won 64 of the 80 seats. Of the 16 independents elected, six were members of the Democracy Group (composed of two former members of the National Centre Party, two Settlers and two of the Veterans' League), six of the Unity Group of Working People (composed of four leftist Socialists and two rightist Socialists), two were Independent Workers and two were members of the Russian Group. [2]

Estonia Republic in Northern Europe

Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland with Finland on the other side, to the west by the Baltic Sea with Sweden on the other side, to the south by Latvia (343 km), and to the east by Lake Peipus and Russia (338.6 km). The territory of Estonia consists of a mainland and 2,222 islands in the Baltic Sea, covering a total area of 45,227 km2 (17,462 sq mi), water 2,839 km2 (1,096 sq mi), land area 42,388 km2 (16,366 sq mi), and is influenced by a humid continental climate. The official language of the country, Estonian, is the second most spoken Finnic language.

The National Front for the Implementation of the Constitution was a political movement in Estonia. For all intents and purposes, it was an enlarged version of the Patriotic League, the only legally permitted party in the country.

The National Centre Party was a political party in Estonia.

Contents

Electoral system

Following the promulgation of a new constitution the voting age was raised to 22 years and only those who had been citizens for three years could vote, whilst minimum age for candidates was raised from 20 to 25. [3]

The Constitution of Estonia is the fundamental law of the Republic of Estonia and establishes the state order as that of a democratic republic where the supreme power is vested in its citizens. The first Constitution was adopted by the freely elected Estonian Constituent Assembly on 15 June 1920 and came into force on 21 December 1920. The second Constitution was adopted on 24 January 1934, following a referendum in 1933, and was in force until the third Constitution was enacted on 1 January 1938. It remained in force, de facto, until 16 June 1940, when the Soviet Union occupied Estonia and, de jure, until 28 June 1992, when the fourth and current Constitution of the Republic of Estonia was adopted by referendum.

Results

PartyVotes%Seats
National Front for the Implementation of the Constitution 256,21357.464
Independents189,92942.616
Invalid/blank votes
Total446,14210080
Source: Nohlen & Stöver

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References

  1. Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p574 ISBN   978-3-8329-5609-7
  2. Nohlen & Stöver, p587
  3. Nohlen & Stöver, p569