COMMUNIST PARTY

Grey River Argus, 8 March 1937, Page 5

COMMUNIST PARTY

Russian Changes IN METHOD OF ELECTION. , (Received March 7, 7 p.m.) MOSCOW, March 6. A fundamental reorganisation of the Russian Communist Party is announced. This announcement follows on. a ten days’ secret session of the (lornmunist Party’s Central Committee. ■ -The Communist Party’s right to the monopoly of leadership in Russia is reasserted. The Central Committee, howover, has decided that the principle of “democratic controlism’’ must be introduced,, for the enabling of all Party members to participate freely in. order to criticise all the Communist Party and Government matters. All of the Party officials must be elected by majority vote of the Party. The .elections of the Communist Party will, in future, be conducted by means qf . a. secret ballot, instead of by a show of hands, as is done at present. The Soviet press describes these changes in the Communist Party’s constitution as “making a landmark’’ in Soviet history, because it means, the press states, that the masses will now be directly in control of the election of the country’s ruling group.