Latvian parliamentary election, 1940
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| This article is part of a series on the politics and government of Latvia |
| Foreign relations |
Parliamentary elections were held in Latvia on 14 and 15 July 1940, alongside simultaneous similarly undemocratic and anticonstitutional elections in Estonia and Lithuania,[1] following the Soviet occupation of the three countries. The Communist Party of Latvia was legalised and renamed the "Working People's Bloc" (Darba ļaužu bloks).[2] It was the sole permitted participant in the election, as an attempt to include the Democratic Bloc (Demokrātiskais bloks; an alliance of all now-banned Latvian parties except the Social Democratic Workers' Party) on the ballot was suppressed,[3] and the main figures of the bloc either arrested and deported (Atis Ķeniņš, Pēteris Berģis and Jānis Bankavs) or shot (Hugo Celmiņš) shortly after, while a few (Voldemārs Zāmuēls, Jānis Breikšs) managed to escape the repression by fleeing from the country.
Along with its sister parliaments in Estonia (Riigivolikogu) and Lithuania (Liaudies Seimas), the newly elected People's Parliament (Tautas Saeima) convened on 21 July to declare the Latvian SSR, requesting admission to the Soviet Union on the same day. The request was approved by the Soviet government on 5 August.[4]
Results
| Party | Votes | % | Seats |
|---|---|---|---|
| Latvian Working People's League | 1,155,807 | 97.8 | 100 |
| Against | 25,516 | 2.2 | – |
| Total | 1,181,323 | 100 | 100 |
| Registered voters/turnout | 1,246,216 | 94.8 | – |
| Source: My Riga | |||
