Hungarian parliamentary election, 1944

Hungarian parliamentary election, 1944
All 230 seats in the Diet ; 116 seats needed for a majority
Prime Minister before election; Ferenc Szálasi ; NYKP	Elected Prime Minister; Béla Miklós ; Military

Last updated April 08, 2019

Elections for the National Interim Assembly were held in Hungary in November 1944.^[1] Members were elected at public meetings in 45 cities and towns in areas held by the Red Army.^[1] An additional 160 members were elected in liberated areas on 2 April and 24 June 1945.^[2]

Hungary is a country in Central Europe. Spanning 93,030 square kilometres (35,920 sq mi) in the Carpathian Basin, it borders Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Austria to the northwest, Romania to the east, Serbia to the south, Croatia to the southwest, and Slovenia to the west. With about 10 million inhabitants, Hungary is a medium-sized member state of the European Union. The official language is Hungarian, which is the most widely spoken Uralic language in the world. Hungary's capital and largest city is Budapest. Other major urban areas include Debrecen, Szeged, Miskolc, Pécs and Győr.

The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, frequently shortened to Red Army was the army and the air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, and, after 1922, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The army was established immediately after the 1917 October Revolution. The Bolsheviks raised an army to oppose the military confederations of their adversaries during the Russian Civil War. Beginning in February 1946, the Red Army, along with the Soviet Navy, embodied the main component of the Soviet Armed Forces; taking the official name of "Soviet Army", until its dissolution in December 1991.

The Hungarian Communist Party won 89 of the 230 seats, increasing to 166 of the 498 seats after the 1945 elections.^[1] The Assembly first convened in Debrecen on 21 and 22 December 1944, establishing a new government and declaring war on Nazi Germany.^[1] Its second session was held in Budapest in September 1945, establishing fresh elections and passing legislation on land redistribution.^[1]

The Party of Communists in Hungary, renamed Hungarian Communist Party in October 1944, was founded on November 24, 1918, and was in power in Hungary briefly from March to August 1919 under Béla Kun and the Hungarian Soviet Republic. The communist government was overthrown by the Romanian Army and driven underground. The party regained power following World War II and held power from 1945 under the leadership of Mátyás Rákosi. In 1948 the party merged with the Social Democrats to become the Hungarian Working People's Party. The Communist Party of Hungary was a member of the Communist International.

Debrecen is Hungary's second largest city after Budapest. It is the regional center of the Northern Great Plain region and the seat of Hajdú-Bihar county. It was the largest Hungarian city in the 18th century and it is one of the Hungarian people's most important cultural centres. Debrecen was also the capital city of Hungary during the revolution in 1848–1849. During the revolution, the dethronement of the Habsburg dynasty was declared in the Reformed Great Church. The city also served as the capital of Hungary by the end of the World War II in 1944–1945. It is home of the University of Debrecen.

Nazi Germany is the common English name for Germany between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party (NSDAP) controlled the country through a dictatorship. Under Hitler's rule, Germany was transformed into a totalitarian state that controlled nearly all aspects of life via the Gleichschaltung legal process. The official name of the state was Deutsches Reich until 1943 and Großdeutsches Reich from 1943 to 1945. Nazi Germany is also known as the Third Reich, meaning "Third Realm" or "Third Empire", the first two being the Holy Roman Empire (800–1806) and the German Empire (1871–1918). The Nazi regime ended after the Allies defeated Germany in May 1945, ending World War II in Europe.

Results

Party	November 1944	April 1945	June 1945	Total seats
Party	Seats	Seats	Seats	Total seats
Hungarian Communist Party	89	36	41	166
Social Democratic Party	42	38	45	125
Independent Smallholders Party	57	16	51	124
National Peasant Party	16	6	20	42
Civic Democratic Party	12	6	3	21
Independents	14	6	0	20
Total	230	108	160	498
Source: Nohlen & Stöver

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References

1 2 3 4 5 Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p914 ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7
↑ Nohlen & Stöver, p900

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[NS-1] 1 2 3 4 5 Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p914 ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7

[2] Nohlen & Stöver, p900