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

26–27 November 1971
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

Politics of Czechoslovakia
Constitution 1918 1920 1948 1960 1968
Executive Legislative Presidents Prime Ministers Federal Assembly Czech National Council Slovak National Council
Elections Parliamentary 1920 1925 1929 1935 1946 1948 1954 1960 1964 1971 1976 1981 1986 1990 1992 Political parties
Administrative divisions
States First Czechoslovak Republic Second Czechoslovak Republic Third Czechoslovak Republic Czechoslovak Socialist Republic Czech Socialist Republic Slovak Socialist Republic
Dissolution Hyphen War
Foreign relations Communist foreign trade
Other countries

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]