CZECH ELECTION

Wanganui Chronicle, 1 June 1948, Page 5

CZECH ELECTION

SURPRISE AT STRENGTH OF THE OPPOSITION estimated to EQUAL 20 PER CENT OF TOTAL

Recd. 11 p.m. London, May 31 Reuter’s Prague correspondent says political quarters in Prague are surprised at the strength of the Opposition in the election. Blank and nonvalid votes and abstentions represented 20 per cent, of the registered el Th° rS Prague radio subtracted the non-valid votes from the returns, thus increasing the Government proportion of votes. Official reports also ignored the abstentions. The Prague radio announced at midnight that the counting of votes at that stage showed an election victory of 89 per cent, for the Government, an official comentator said that the percentage of blank votes was “evidently due to some misunderstanding."

The British United Press correspondent at Prague says it is unofficially reported that officials of the Czech Ministry of the Interior last night dismissed city employees counting the election votes and told them the ministry would finish the job. A member of the Prague statistics office told the correspondent that the vote ranged from 20 to 30 per cent against the Government going as high as 50 per cent in some districts. The correspondent added that many Czechs said they put a picture of Benes in the ballot-box instead of a blank voting card. They could then discard the blank card in public, seeming to indicate that they had voted for the Government.