Ukrainian Constituent Assembly election, 1918
Encyclopedia
Elections to the Ukrainian Constituent Assembly were never finished as a result of events in the Russian Revolution of 1917
Russian Revolution of 1917
The Russian Revolution is the collective term for a series of revolutions in Russia in 1917, which destroyed the Tsarist autocracy and led to the creation of the Soviet Union. The Tsar was deposed and replaced by a provisional government in the first revolution of February 1917...

 and the following.

Organization

There were 301 seats contested to the Ukrainian Constituent Assembly
Ukrainian Constituent Assembly
The Ukrainian Constituent Assembly was a scheduled All-National Congress which supposed to confirm the Constitution of Ukraine and establish a new political system. The Assembly was supposed to be the supreme state power and elections to which would be organized by the Central Rada that would hold...

 in 13 electoral districts starting on . The elections were proclaimed on November 20 by the Third Universal
Universal (act)
Universal is a historic term that means an official proclamation or legal act. In several historic periods Universals were issued by the Polish and Ukrainian authorities. The name originates from Latin litterae universales, meaning universal publication directed to all...

 of the Central Rada
Tsentralna Rada
The Tsentralna Rada or Central Rada at first was the All-Ukrainian council that united political, public, cultural, professional organizations. Later after the All-Ukrainian National Congress that council became the revolutionary parliament of Ukraine...

 of the Ukrainian People's Republic
Ukrainian People's Republic
The Ukrainian People's Republic or Ukrainian National Republic was a republic that was declared in part of the territory of modern Ukraine after the Russian Revolution, eventually headed by Symon Petliura.-Revolutionary Wave:...

. The Universal proclaimed that the Constituent Assembly would convene on .

The Universal proclaimed that the Constituent Assembly's 301 deputies were to be elected by a direct universal, equal and secret vote on the basis of proportional representation
Proportional representation
Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...

 of 1 deputy per 100,000 constituents. Male and female citizens aged 20 and over who have attained the right to vote were allowed to participate in the elections.

Preparation

Right before elections the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party tried to sabotage the elections through another coup-d'etat that was scheduled to take place on December 24 to establish the Soviet power in Ukraine. However, that attempt was effectively extinguished, all Bolshevik military formations were disarmed, and sent by train to the Soviet Russia
Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic , commonly referred to as Soviet Russia, Bolshevik Russia, or simply Russia, was the largest, most populous and economically developed republic in the former Soviet Union....

 including the 2nd Guard Corps led by Yevgenia Bosch that was stopped near Zhmerynka
Zhmerynka
Zhmerynka [ʒ’mærınkɑ:] is a town in the Vinnytska Oblast of central Ukraine. Serving as the administrative center of the Zhmerynsky Raion , the town itself is also designated as a separate community within the oblast, and is located at around .The current estimated population is around 37.000...

 en route to Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....

 in support of the mutiny. On December 30 the government of Russia (Sovnarkom) issued an ultimatum to reinstate legal rights of Bolshevik military formations in Ukraine, which was ignored.

Results

According to the election results, 171 of the 301 deputies were elected in regions where the Bolsheviks were not in power. Over 70 percent of the total votes cast were for Ukrainian political parties while only 10 percent went to the Bolsheviks. Following political turmoil, the Ukrainian Constituent Assembly never convened and the Central Council took on its responsibilities. The elections were paused due to invasion of Russia and the chaos that was spread as the result of it. The Central Rada announced that it will act as the legislative body until the Assembly will be convened.
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