The New Electoral System and the Corresponding Restructuring of Party Political Work

– A.A. Zhdanov –

Resolution of the Plenum of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (Bolsheviks) on the report of Comrade Zhdanov, adopted on February 27, 1937

The introduction of the new Constitution of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics marks a turning point in the political life of the country. The essence of this turn lies in the further democratization of the electoral system in the sense of replacing not quite equal elections to councils with equal ones, multi-stage elections with direct ones, open elections with closed ones.

If before the introduction of the new Constitution there were restrictions on the right to vote for ministers of religion, ex-white guards, former people and people not doing general labour, the new Constitution does away with all the restrictions on those categories of citizens, making the elections of deputies general.

Previously deputy elections were not equal as there were different standards for urban and rural populations, but now it is no longer necessary to restrict the equality of the elections and all citizens have the right to participate in elections on the same basis.

Whereas earlier the elections to the middle and higher bodies of the Soviet power had been multi-degree, under the new Constitution elections to all councils from rural and urban up to the Supreme Soviet will be by direct election by the citizens.
Whereas previously the councils were elected by open ballot and by lists, now the voting in elections to the councils will be by secret ballot and not by lists, but by individual candidates nominated by electoral districts.

Finally, the constitution introduces a popular vote (referendum).

These changes to the electoral system mean greater control by the masses over the Soviet organs and greater responsibility by the Soviet organs to the masses.

The consequence of the introduction of universal, equal and direct suffrage by secret ballot will be a further increase in the political activity of the Idea, the involvement of the new strata of the working class in the administration of the state. In this way the dictatorship of the proletariat becomes more flexible and, therefore, a more powerful system of state leadership of the working class in society, the base of the working class dictatorship is enlarged and its basis becomes more solid.

In order to meet this turnaround fully, the Party must take the lead in it and ensure its full leadership role in the forthcoming elections of the supreme organs of the country.

Are the Party organizations ready for this kind of leadership?

What is required of the Party in order for it to be at the head of this turnaround, at the head of the new, until the end of democratic elections?

This requires that the Party itself conducts consistent democratic practice, that it carries out the foundations of democratic centralism through to the end in its inner-party life, as required by its constitution, that it itself has the necessary conditions so that all Party organs are elected, that criticism and self-criticism should develop fully, that the responsibility of Party organs towards the Party masses is complete and that the Party masses itself are fully energized.

Can we say that all the Party organizations are ready to fulfil these conditions, that they have already adjusted to a fully democratic approach?

Unfortunately, this cannot be said with any certainty.

This is evidenced by the practice in some organizations of violating the statutes of the Party and the foundations of internal party democracy.

What are these violations?

In a number of organizations, the election of Party bodies, as stipulated by the Party Statute, has been violated. The deadlines for the election of Party organs as established in the Party Statute are not respected by the Party organizations. The unjustifiable practice of co-optation of various senior officials as members of the plenums of the district, city and regional committees and the Central Committee of the national Party has become widespread.

The procedure for the approval of secretaries of Party committees by the higher Party organs, as stipulated in the Party Statute, has in fact been transformed into an appointment in a number of Party organs. The Party committee secretaries are often approved before they are elected by the local Party organs, which in practice means that the local Party organs have no opportunity to discuss the candidacy of the recommended person. Confirmation for election and removal from office often takes place through questioning by Party organs and without recommending new workers to the plenum of the Party committee, and without explaining to the Party organs the reasons for removing a particular Party leader.

With regard to the election of Party leaders, there is still a practice whereby the discussion of candidate lists takes place only at preliminary meetings, councils of elders, meetings of delegations, and, as a rule, the debate on candidates is not opened at the plenums and conferences themselves, the voting takes place in lists and not personally, and thus the election procedure turns into a mere formality.

All these facts of violation of the foundations of democratic centralism harm the Party, because they inhibit the growth of activity of Party members, deprive the activists, who have special political importance in the life of our Party, of the opportunity to participate in leadership work, deprive Party members of their legal rights to control the activities of Party organs and thereby disturb the correct relationship between the leaders and the Party masses.

Striking examples of this practice are the facts recently uncovered by the Central Committee of the CPSU(b) of the flagrant neglect of party-political work in the Azov-Black Sea Regional Committee, the Kiev Regional Committee and Central Committee of the CPU(b) and other Party organizations, expressed in flagrant violations of the Party charter and the principles of democratic centralism in the sense of the abandonment of the election of Party organs and the introduction of the intolerant practice of co-optation.

The Plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU(b) stresses that the examples of misrule uncovered in the Kiev Regional Committee and the Azov-Black Sea Territory are not isolated, but are inherent to one degree or another in all the regional and provincial Party organizations.

The Plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU(b) considers that elimination of these and similar shortcomings is the necessary condition without which the new tasks of the Party, arising from the fact of the turn in the political life of the country, the adoption of the new Constitution and the forthcoming elections of the supreme organs of the country on the basis of universal, equal and direct suffrage by secret ballot, cannot be fulfilled.

It is therefore necessary to restructure Party work on the basis of the unconditional and complete implementation of the principles of internal Party democracy as prescribed by the Party charter.

The Plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU(b) considers it necessary to carry out and obliges all Party organizations to carry out the following measures:

1. To abolish the practice of co-optation as members of Party committees and to restore, in accordance with the Party statutes, the electability of the governing bodies of Party organizations.

2. Prohibit voting in lists for the election of Party organs. Voting should be by individual candidates, ensuring that all Party members have an unrestricted right to reject candidates and criticise them.

3. Establish a closed (secret) ballot for candidates in the election of Party bodies.

4. We agreed to hold elections of Party organs in all such organs, starting from the Party committees of primary Party organs and ending with the territorial and regional committees and the Central Committee of the national Party, and to finish the elections no later than May 20.

5. To oblige all the Party organs to observe strictly the dates of elections of Party organs in accordance with the statute of the Party: in the primary Party organs — once a year; in the district and municipal organs — once a year; in the provincial, territorial and republican ones — once in 11/2 years.

6. Ensure that primary Party organizations strictly follow the procedure for the election of Party committees at factory-wide meetings and do not allow the latter to be replaced by conferences.

7. Eliminate the practice in a number of primary Party organizations of actually canceling general meetings and substituting general meetings for shop floor meetings and conferences.

Originally titled: “Preparation of Party Organizations for the Elections to the Supreme Soviet of the USSR Under the New Electoral System and the Corresponding Restructuring of Party Political Work”

(Pravda, No. 64 (7030), 1937, March 6, 1937)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *