1979 Soviet Union legislative election

none Soviet Union 1974 Soviet Union legislative election 1974 1984 Soviet Union legislative election 1984 4 March 1979 yes Soviet of the Union All 750 seats in the Soviet of the Union yes yes Communist Party 562 549 Independents 205 201 yes Soviet of Nationalities All 750 seats in the Soviet of Nationalities yes yes Communist Party 534 526 Independents 216 224 Chairman of the Council of Ministers Alexei Kosygin Communist Party of the Soviet Union Alexei Kosygin Communist Party of the Soviet Union Supreme Soviet election were held in the Soviet Union on 4 March 1979.Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p1642 978-3-8329-5609-7 They were the first elections held under the 1977 Soviet constitution, which slightly reformed the composition of the Supreme Soviet. Electoral system Candidates had to be nominated by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) or by a public organisation.Nohlen & Stöver, p1630 However, all public organisations were controlled by the party and were subservient to a 1931 law that required them to accept party rule. The CPSU itself remained the only legal one in the country.Nohlen & Stöver, p1654 Voters could vote against the CPSU candidate, but could only do so by using polling booths, whereas votes for the party could be cast simply by submitting a blank ballot. Turnout was required to be over 50% for the election to be valid. While under the 1936 constitution the Supreme Soviet had been elected for a four-year term, and the Soviet of the Union had one deputy for every 300,000 people,Верховный Совет СССР, Great Soviet Encyclopedia the 1977 constitution extended the Supreme Soviet's term to five years, and made the number of seats in the lower house, the Soviet of the Union, equal to that of the upper Soviet of Nationalities, regardless of population size.The 1977 Soviet Constitution: A Historical Comparison Igor I. Kavass Gary I. Christian Vanderbilt Law Review 12 3 533 July 1979 https://scholarship.law.vanderbilt.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2425&context=vjtl scholarship.law.vanderbilt.edu 3 September 20241414 3311636 The Theories and Realities of Modern Soviet Constitutional Law: An Analysis of the 1977 USSR Constitution Osakwe Christopher University of Pennsylvania Law Review 1979 127 5 10.2307/3311636 5783531 https://scholarship.law.upenn.edu/penn_law_review/vol127/iss5/3 subscription July 2026 InternetArchiveBot While the five year-term was implemented immediately — the Supreme Soviet elected in 1974 had its term extended from 1978 to 1979 — the 1979 elections were the first in which both houses of the Supreme Soviet had the same number of members. Candidates CPSU candidates accounted for around three quarters of the nominees, whilst many of the others were members of Komsomol.Nohlen & Stöver, p1631 Results Soviet of the Union File:Soviet Union Soviet of the Union 1979.svg Communist Party of the Soviet Union 174734459 2 549 –13 Independents 201 –4 Against 185730 –17 32 174944173 Nohlen & Stöver Soviet of Nationalities File:Soviet Union Soviet of Nationalities 1979.svg Communist Party of the Soviet Union 174770398 2 526 –8 Independents 224 +8 Against 149783 0 40 174944173 Nohlen & Stöver References Category:Legislative elections in the Soviet Union Supreme Category:One-party elections Category:Single-candidate elections in the Soviet Union Soviet Union