Alegerile parlamentare din anul 1919 în judeţul Caraş-Severin / 1919 Parliamentary Elections in Caraş-Severin County

Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate the development of the November 1919 parliamentary elections in thedistricts of Caraş-Severin County.After the withdrawal of Serbian and French troops from the Banat and the establishment of the Romanianadministration, two counties were set-up in the Banat area allocated to Romania after the Paris Peace Conference,namely Caraş-Severin and Timiş-Torontal.Caraş-Severin County had its capital in Lugoj and included most of the former Hungarian county with thesame name.According to the decisions of the National Assembly of Alba Iulia from 1 December 1918, the new countyadministration was subordinated to the Governing Council based in Sibiu at that time.Both the domestic and international public observed the elections closely, which were announced at thebeginning of 1919. These were the first parliamentary elections in Great Romania.This study describes the new election law: the organization of electoral districts on the territory of the mentionedcounty; the disputes between the political parties that occurred during the preparation of the candidates lists forthe Chamber of Deputies and Senate, the activity of the political parties based in this county; and the electoraltours of candidates in the districts’ villages and cities.The study highlights that these elections were conducted during a state of siege and censorship, whichrepresented a form of political aggression and a way to influence the electorate. Censorship was aimed mainlyat the publications of opposition parties and independent publications, but also some electoral propagandamaterials: brochures, leaflets, posters, flyers, etc., which played an important role in this electoral campaign.Thus, at that time, the Lugoj newspaper Drapelul (the Flag) that appeared since the beginning of the centurywas considered one of the most important publications of the Romanian National Party. The most importantpublications of the opposition parties were Timişana and Banatul Românesc.Considering that the Romanian National Party was presented in the election campaign with a historical past andshowing many times that it is the representative of the Romanian people from Transylvania and Banat, enjoyingpopularity among electors, and being supported by authorities through the mass-media that spread its electoralprogram, the party’s success in the 1919 elections in the districts of Caraş-Severin County seems only naturalthe study concludes with a listing of the names of deputies and senators from Caraş-Severin that will be partof united Romania’s first parliament.