1990 Lithuanian Supreme Soviet election

Background

The Eleventh Supreme Soviet of the Lithuanian SSR was elected on 24 February 1985. It acted as rubber stamp legislature up until the summer of 1988. By the summer of that same year Reform Movement was founded and gained support Lithuanian SSR-wide. Along side this, General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev announced the slogan of Demokratizatsiya, which intended to make Soviet institutions more democratic. It proposed candidacy of more than one person to single seat in soviets of various levels in the elections.

On 15 January 1989 the first free elections took place for two vacant deputies' seats in Šiauliai. One of them has been won by Sąjūdis supported independent candidate Zigmas Vaišvila.

On 26 March 1989 elections took place for 42 seats in the Congress of People's Deputies. Despite the Easter Sunday celebrations and boycott by dissident organizations such as the Lithuanian Liberty League, the turnout reached 82.5%. The results were a sweeping victory to Sąjūdis: 36 out of its 39 candidates won against the Communist Party of Lithuania (CPL) (some of these candidates were CPL members themselves). By the summer of 1989, the party supported calls for "sovereignty" and cooperated with Sąjūdis.

On 29 September 1989 the Supreme Soviet of the Lithuanian SSR Deputies' Election Act was passed. It reduced future Supreme Soviet by 60 per cent (from 350 to 141 members) and eliminated deputies from local government soviets and various organisations in the process. At the same day, election day to the new Supreme Soviet of the Lithuanian SSR was proposed on 24 February 1990, what will be done on 23 November 1989. Initially, appointment (not electing) over one third of all deputies was proposed, but, due to public pressure, this proposal was not put in Election Act.

On 7 December 1989 the Supreme Soviet of the Lithuanian SSR, then almost fully controlled by CPL, amended the Constitution of the Lithuanian SSR eliminating Article 6, which established communist party monopoly in political life. At the same day, Article 7, which established participation of the Lithuanian Komsomol in political life (including elections), was amended as well. These decisions meant that Lithuania eliminated legal obstacles for a multi-party system and allowed other parties to compete in the upcoming parliamentary elections.

During its 20th congress on 19–20 December the CPL separated itself from the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) by a vote of 855 to 160. For such insubordination, Brazauskas was scolded in a special session of the Central Committee of CPSU and Mikhail Gorbachev made a personal visit to Lithuania to heal the rift in January 1990. However, such measures changed little and CPL (independent) kept slowly pushing for independence. This political divorce was not approved by hardline communists. They established a separate CPL, which was still part of the CPSU, and claimed to be the legal successor of the "real" CPL. This pro-Moscow group was led by Mykolas Burokevičius and included disproportionately large numbers of representatives from Russian and Polish minorities.

Electoral system

Members of the Supreme Soviet were elected from single-member constituencies by two-round system. Second round has been used or repeated if no candidate reach 50 per cent of all votes given or less than 50 per cent of all registered voters, who voted in constituency.

Campaign

The main competition was between Sąjūdis and CPL (independent). While both camps agreed on the eventual goal of independent Lithuania, Sąjūdis advocated acting quickly without fearing Moscow's reaction and CPL campaigned for a step-by-step approach to avoid conflict with Moscow. Even though Sąjūdis was not a political party and was not reflected in any official statistics, Such endorsements would be handed out based on personal merits and without regard to political affiliation.

A total of 522 candidates registered for the election, but 50 dropped out before the election day.

Opinion polls

Results

A total of 90 delegates were elected in the first round. In 51 constituencies, the run-off elections were held in early March. Originally scheduled for 10 March, the run-off was pushed forward whenever possible so that the Supreme Soviet could meet as soon as possible (all run-offs were held on 4, 7–10 March). Due to low voter turnout (primarily in areas where Polish and Russian minorities concentrated), elections in six constituencies were invalid.

Of the 135 members elected, 91 had been endorsed by Sąjūdis, including 58 of the 64 independents, 17 of the independent Communists, all elected members of the Social Democrats, Greens and Christian Democrats, and one of the three Democratic Party members.

Aftermath

Main article: Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania

Immediately after the first round, elected delegates gathered for semi-formal discussions and consultations. Some of the critical decisions were made during these "tea talks" between the first and second rounds of the election. The Supreme Soviet was to convene as soon as possible (two weeks after the election) and declare independence without delay. The Lithuanians were afraid that during the scheduled assembly of the Congress of People's Deputies on 12 March 1990, Gorbachev would be appointed as the President of the Soviet Union and would gain greater powers within the union. Specifically, Lithuanians feared that Gorbachev would pass a law on secession that would make it virtually impossible to break away from the Soviet Union. At the time of its first gathering on 10 March, the final results of the run-off election were not yet available.

During the first session, the delegates elected a commission to verify the election results. As verification was a time-consuming process, the Supreme Soviet adjourned until 09:00 the next morning. Thus Lithuania officially declared its independence from the Soviet Union.

Notes

References

Cited sources

References

1. In six constituencies, voter turnout was below the required minimum and a third round was held on 17 and 21 April.Truska (2009), p. 261
2. Vardys (1997), p. 153
3. "Prisiminimų vakaras – su prisipažinimu apie sprogdinimus | Šiaulių kraštas".
4. Vardys (1997), p. 144
5. The communists won only 6 seats; two of them were uncontested, as Sąjūdis withdrew its candidates in favor of [[Algirdas Brazauskas]] and [[Vladimiras Beriozovas]]. CPL, shaken by the defeat, was losing authority and membership. To save the party, its leader Brazauskas moved closer to the pro-independence movements.Vardys (1997), p. 151
6. "XI-3249 Dėl Lietuvos Tarybų Socialistinės Respublikos Aukščiausiosios Tarybos deputatų rinkimų".
7. [https://savb.lt/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/195.pdf ELTA. Lietuvos TSR Aukščiausiosios Tarybos sesija / Šiaulių naujienos, Nr. 195 (106706), 1989, p. 1]
8. "Xi-3408 Dėl Dvyliktojo Šaukimo Lietuvos TSR Aukščiausiosios Tarybos Deputatų Rinkimų Paskyrimo".
9. "XI-2960 Dėl Lietuvos TSR Aukščiausiosios Tarybos deputatų ir vietinių liaudies deputatų tarybų deputatų rinkimų įstatymų projektų rengimo ir rinkimų datos į šias tarybas nustatymo".
10. Senn (1995), p. 76
11. "Xi-3453 Dėl Lietuvos TSR Konstitucijos (Pagrindinio Įstatymo) 6 Ir 7 Straipsnių Pakeitimo".
12. Vardys (1997), p. 152
13. Senn (1995), pp. 78–80, 83–84
14. Senn (1995), p. 77
15. Senn (1995), p. 89
16. its endorsements had an immense influence on candidate's electability because the votes would be cast not for party lists, but for specific personalities.Laurinavičius (2008), p. 515
17. Therefore, a number of CPL members was backed by Sąjūdis. Other parties were formed just recently and did not enjoy widespread popularity. Of all parties participating, only CPL (CPSU) did not support Lithuanian independence.Vardys (1997), p. 154
18. Of the remaining 472 candidates, 201 were proposed by the CPL (independent), 139 were nonpartisans, and 79 were listed by CPL (CPSU).Senn (1995), p. 90
19. Laurinavičius (2008), pp. 507, 509
20. Laurinavičius (2008), p. 507
21. Popescu, Marina. (2002-12-12). "1990 Parliamentary Elections - Soviet". [[University of Essex]].
22. Laurinavičius (2008), p. 514
23. Observers note that the communists ran a passive campaign and lacked personalities that could compete with prominent intellectuals of Sąjūdis. Also, the campaign was framed as a referendum for Lithuania's independence – all those in support were morally obligated to vote for Sąjūdis.Laurinavičius (2008), p. 516
24. . (1990-03-01). "Lietuvos TSR Aukščiausiosios Tarybos deputatų rinkimų 1990 m. vasario 24 d. rezultatai". *Spauda*.
25. Laurinavičius (2008), pp. 519–520
26. Senn (1995), p. 91
27. Vardys (1997), p. 156
28. (26 February 2017). "Lietuvos Respublikos Konstitucijos koncepcijos metmenys".
29. (1990-03-10). "Pirmasis posėdis". [[Seimas]].
30. (1990-03-11). "Trečiasis posėdis". [[Seimas]].