The Front of Socialist Unity and Democracy ( ro, Frontul Democrației și Unității Socialiste, FDUS) was a

political alliance A political group is a group consisting of political parties or legislators of aligned ideologies. A technical group is similar to a political group, but with members of differing ideologies. International terms Equivalent terms are used differ ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

from 1968 to 1989, dominated by the

Romanian Communist Party The Romanian Communist Party ( ro, Partidul Comunist Român, , PCR) was a communist party in Romania. The successor to the pro-Bolshevik wing of the Socialist Party of Romania, it gave ideological endorsement to a communist revolution that wo ...

(PCR).

History

The alliance was formed in 1968 as the Front of Socialist Unity (''Frontul Unității Socialiste'', FUS), and renamed the Front of Socialist Unity and Democracy in 1980. It brought together all legal political parties in the country,Romania: Elections held in 1980
IPU replacing the People's Democratic Front. Like its predecessor, it was organised and directed by the PCR. The minor parties in the front were completely subservient to the PCR, and had to accept its "leading role" as a condition of their continued existence.

Dieter Nohlen Dieter Nohlen (born 6 November 1939) is a German academic and political scientist. He currently holds the position of Emeritus Professor of Political Science in the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences of the University of Heidelberg. An exp ...

& Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1604–1605 No prospective candidate could run for office without the Front's approval, which in effect allowed the Front and, through it, the PCR to predetermine the composition of the legislature.

Nicolae Ceaușescu Nicolae Ceaușescu ( , ; – 25 December 1989) was a Romanian communist politician and dictator. He was the general secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 to 1989, and the second and last Communist leader of Romania. He ...

, who served as general secretary of the PCR and President of Romania, was also the chairman of the Front.Electoral system
''Romania: A country study.''

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The libra ...

Federal Research Division, December 1989. Voters were presented with a single list of FUS/FDUS candidates in every election between

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

and

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

, with the option to choose all or part of the list or reject it entirely. The Front therefore won all seats in the

Great National Assembly Great National Assembly or Grand National Assembly may refer to: * Great National Assembly of Alba Iulia, an assembly of Romanian delegates that declared the unification of Transylvania and Romania * Great National Assembly (Socialist Republic of ...

in every election, claiming to have received at least 97 percent each time. Each time, fewer than 400,000 people either rejected the list outright, spoiled their papers, or cast blank ballots. After the Constitution was amended to create an

executive presidency An executive president is the head of state who exercises authority over the governance of that state, and can be found in presidential, semi-presidential, and parliamentary systems. They contrast with figurehead presidents, common in most parlia ...

, the FDUS recommended the presidential candidate in tandem with the Communist Party's Central Committee.

Electoral history

Great National Assembly elections

References

{{Authority control Popular fronts of communist states Defunct political party alliances in Romania Political parties established in 1968 1968 establishments in Romania Political parties disestablished in 1989 1989 disestablishments in Romania Romanian Communist Party

History

Electoral history

Great National Assembly elections

See also

References