Social Democrats Resign

Northern Advocate, 2 September 1947, Page 5

Social Democrats Resign

All Social Democratic Ministers in Hungary’s Coalition Government have decided to resign following charges of systematic electoral abuses in the election. Their action came after the Social Democrat Minister of Justice (M. Istvan Reiss) resigned during an allnight meeting because the police obstructed investigators he sent out to examine reports of plural voting. The Hungarian Independence Party decided to petition for a declaration that the election was invalid on the ground that the result was influenced by electoral abuses. Reuters correspondent says that although it is too early to assess the extent of abuses a study of British and American observers’ reports in all parts of Hungary indicated:

(1) That the secret ballot was strictly observed. (2) There was no intimidation of voters in, or near, polling booths. (3) There is no doubt organised abuses in the form of “flying voters” occurred in many district. (4) An overwhelming majority of these plural voters were Communists. (5) Blue cards, which they used, were original forms. Half a million blue forms were printed, 200,00 Q were distributed legally and 280,000 disappeared. It seems clear that disenfranchisement was necessary to make way for flying voters, so the total number of votes cast should not exceed the total number of voters.

According to British and American reports election committees in several

districts asked the Minister of the Interior for permission not to allow flying voters to vote until after 7 p.m. in case they were left with no voting papers for their local voters. In every case they were ordered by the Ministry to allow “blue card” voters to vote immediately.