1990 Soviet Union presidential election

Presidential elections were held in the Soviet Union on 14 March 1990 to elect a president for a five-year term. This was the only presidential election in the Soviet Union, as the post of president was introduced in 1990, and the Soviet Union disintegrated in the following year. The elections were uncontested, with Mikhail Gorbachev as the only candidate.[1][2][3]

1990 Soviet Union presidential election

14 March 1990
1,878 from 2,245 People's Deputies of the Soviet Union 665 votes needed to win
Candidate Mikhail Gorbachev Party CPSU Home state Russian SFSR Electoral vote 1,329 Percentage 72.9
Mikhail Gorbachev   Against   Blank, invalids votes
Elected President Mikhail Gorbachev CPSU

Although the constitution required the president to be directly-elected,[4] it was decided that the first elections should be held on an indirect basis as it was necessary for a president to be elected immediately and processes taking place in the country did not leave time for elections to be held.[5]

Background

On February 7, 1990, about a month prior to the election, Communist Party leaders voted on establishing a presidency.[6] The third (extraordinary) Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR began on 12 March 1990. The congress decided to create the post of President of the USSR.[1][3] The president would be elected to five-year terms. The CPD would elect the president for this election cycle, then turn over future elections to the public starting in 1995—which never happened due to the USSR's collapse in 1991.[7]

Candidates

On 14 March during a plenum of the CPSU Central Committee, Gorbachev, Interior Minister Vadim Bakatin and former Prime Minister Nikolai Ryzhkov were nominated as presidential candidates; however, Bakatin and Ryzhkov withdrew their candidacies.[1]

Nominee

Communist Party
Mikhail Gorbachev
Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union (1989–1990)

Withdrew

• 
  Minister of Interior
  Vadim Bakatin
• 
  Chairman of the Council of Ministers
  Nikolai Ryzhkov

Mikhail Gorbachev's Campaign

Gorbachev worked with the Congress to make sure that he secured a two-thirds majority; otherwise, he would have to campaign against other candidates in a general election. One of the tactics he used was repeatedly threatening to resign if a two-thirds majority wasn't attained.[8]

Results

At the time of the elections, 2,245 of the 2,250 seats were filled; however, 245 did not attend the Congress and a further 122 did not vote.[1]

Candidate		Result
	Mikhail Gorbachev	1,329	72.9
Against		495	27.1
Invalid/blank votes		54	–
Total		1,878	100
Eligible voters/turnout		2,245	83.7
Source: BBC[1]

Aftermath

March 15, the day after the election, at a meeting of the Congress of People's Deputies, Gorbachev took office as President.[9][10] On March 24, 10 days after the election, President Gorbachev appointed his cabinet.[11]

Reactions

The means of this election drew mixed reactions. Sergei Stankevich, a deputy from Moscow, decided that he would abstain from voting, despite supporting Gorbachev, because he believed that the president should face a nationwide vote. Others were upset with the lack of opposition against Gorbachev for a position that sought to increase democracy throughout the USSR. Sakhalin Island deputy Ivan Zhdakayev expressed discontent over this: "Elections mean a popular vote, not this charade." Kazakhstani deputy Olzhas Suleimenov believed that reforms under Gorbachev were inconsistent.[7]

References

1. Первый и последний: как Горбачев стал президентом СССР BBC Russian, 11 March 2015
2. Выборы первого президента СССР Rusfate, 18 March 2018
3. Избрание М.С. Горбачева Президентом СССР на Третьем съезде народных депутатов СССР Istoriya.RF
4. USSR Constitution 1977. Article 127.1 Garant
5. 15 МАРТА 1990 Г. 25 ЛЕТ НАЗАД МИХАИЛ ГОРБАЧЕВ БЫЛ ИЗБРАН ЕДИНСТВЕННЫМ В ИСТОРИИ СССР ПРЕЗИДЕНТОМ Live Internet, 15 March 2015
6. Dobbs, Michael (February 8, 1990). "SOVIET PARTY VOTES TO DROP MONOPOLY ON POWER". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
7. Remnick, David (March 15, 1990). "GORBACHEV ELECTED PRESIDENT". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
8. "Gorbachev elected president of the Soviet Union". History. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
9. Присяга Горбачева в качестве президента СССР Archived 2019-03-07 at the Wayback Machine Diletant, 15 March 2016
10. Инаугурация - праздник победы кандидата большинства RBC, 7 May 2012
11. "GORBACHEV APPOINTS NEW CABINET". The Washington Post. March 25, 1990. Retrieved March 6, 2019.