Elections to the Supreme Soviet were held in the Soviet Union on 4 March 1979.[1] They were the first elections held under the 1977 Soviet constitution, which slightly reformed the composition of the Supreme Soviet.
Candidates had to be nominated by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) or by a public organisation.[2] However, all public organisations were controlled by the party and were subservient to a 1931 law that required them to accept party rule.[2] The CPSU itself remained the only legal one in the country.[3]
Voters could vote against the CPSU candidate, but could only do so by using polling booths, whereas votes for the party could be cast simply by submitting a blank ballot.[2] Turnout was required to be over 50% for the election to be valid.[2]
While under the 1936 constitution the Supreme Soviet had been elected for a four-year term, and the Soviet of the Union had one deputy for every 300,000 people,[4] the 1977 constitution extended the Supreme Soviet's term to five years, and made the number of seats in the lower house, the Soviet of the Union, equal to that of the upperSoviet of Nationalities, regardless of population size.[5][6] While the five year-term was implemented immediately — the Supreme Soviet elected in 1974 had its term extended from 1978 to 1979 — the 1979 elections were the first in which both houses of the Supreme Soviet had the same number of members.
