A VOTE FOR STALIN

Greymouth Evening Star, 10 February 1947, Page 5

A VOTE FOR STALIN

SOVIET ELECTIONS IN GALA ATMOSPHERE NO OPPOSITION CANDIDATES (Rec. 11.50 a.m.) LONDON, Feb. 9. Tew thousand voters in some districts of Moscow filed-every hour into carpeted polling stations, to-day, so that they-could drop, into ballot boxes, ballot papers which held one name — Stalin, says Reuter’s correspondent in Moscow. Pencils were provided in the booths .so that the. voters, if they so wished, could cross out Stalin’s name which would count as a vote against him. Some voters dropped their papers into the boxes without even entering the voting booths. A huge bronze statue of Stalin on a red velvet pedestal encircled with fluorescent lights stood in the polling stations. It depicted him with an arm around a little girl who had just presented him with a bouquet of flowers. The city was in a gala mood for the elections. Moscovites in 44’degrees of frost saw skating, skiing'and motorcycle contests. Stalin himself, in a pre-election speech, struck the. keynote: “This is really a national holiday. There were never before in the world such truly free and democratic elections.” Electors elsewhere in Russia were voting for representatives to the Supreme Soviets (parliaments) of 16 republics. In'the 740 electoral districts there was not one opposition candidate.