1971 Czechoslovak parliamentary election

Parliamentary elections were held in Czechoslovakia on 26 and 27 November 1971.^[1] They were the first held after the Constitutional Act on the Czechoslovak Federation converted Czechoslovakia into a federal republic, comprising the Czech Socialist Republic and the Slovak Socialist Republic, as well as the first elections in Czechoslovakia held in the aftermath of the Prague Spring.

1971 Czechoslovak parliamentary election

← 1964 26–27 November 1971 1976 →
All 200 seats in the House of the People All 150 seats in the House of Nations
Majority party   Leader Gustáv Husák Party KSČ Alliance National Front Seats after 245 Seat change 100
Prime Minister before election Lubomír Štrougal KSČ Elected Prime Minister Lubomír Štrougal KSČ

The National Front, dominated by the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, put forward a single list of candidates for both houses of the Federal Assembly, the House of the People (the lower house) and the House of Nations (the upper house). A single NF-approved candidate ran in each single member constituency.^[2] With a total of 350 seats in the two Houses, 245 were assigned to the Communist Party, 20 to the Czechoslovak Socialist Party, 16 to the Czechoslovak People's Party, four to the Party of Slovak Revival, four to the Freedom Party, and 61 to independents.^[1] Voter turnout was reported to be 99.45%.^[1]

Like the other elections of the Communist era, the result was a foregone conclusion. People were afraid not to vote, and when they did so, those who entered a voting booth to modify their ballot paper could expect to be persecuted by the state.^[3]

Results

House of the People

Party or alliance				Votes	%	Seats
	National Front		Communist Party of Czechoslovakia	10,153,572	100.00	145
			Czechoslovak Socialist Party			13
			Czechoslovak People's Party			8
			Party of Slovak Revival			2
			Freedom Party			2
			Independents			30
Total				10,153,572	100.00	200
Registered voters/turnout				10,253,796	–
Source: ,[4] IPU, CZSO

House of Nations

Party or alliance				Votes	%	Seats
	National Front		Communist Party of Czechoslovakia	10,144,464	100.00	100
			Czechoslovak People's Party			8
			Czechoslovak Socialist Party			7
			Party of Slovak Revival			2
			Freedom Party			2
			Independents			31
Total				10,144,464	100.00	150
Registered voters/turnout				10,253,796	–
Source: IPU, CZSO, [note 1]

Notes

1. Seat counts have been extrapolated by subtracting the IPU seat counts for the entire Federal Assembly with the House of the People's seat counts