A referendum on the military was held in

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 ...

on 23 November 1986.Rumänien, 23. November 1986 : Verkleinerung des Heeres, Senkung der Rüstungsausgaben um 5%
Direct Democracy Voters were asked whether they approved of reducing the size of the army and cutting military spending by 5%. According to official results, the proposals were approved by 100% of voters, with not a single vote against and only 228 registered voters not voting.

Background

Following a proposal by President

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 was ...

, on 23 October 1986 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 R ...

changed the constitution to allow for referendums, whilst the voting age was lowered to 14 years. On the same day, on the occasion of the

International Year of Peace The International Year of Peace was recognized in 1986 by the United Nations. It was first proposed during the UN conference of November, 1981 by the United Nations Economic and Social Council, with a date associated with the fortieth anniversary o ...

established by the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

, Law No. 20/1986 on the reduction of arms expenditures was promulgated, which provided for the holding of a confirmatory referendum on it. The State Council presided over by Ceauşescu set the date of the referendum by Decree No. 360 of 5 November 1986.

Results

There were 16,073,845 registered voters for the referendum, of whom 16,073,621 went to the polls. The electoral body also included 1,577,357 young people between the ages of 14 and 18, of whom 1,577,353 voted.

Consequences

As a result of the referendum, the Socialist Republic of Romania reduced the Armed Forces by 10,000 soldiers, 250 tanks and other armed vehicles, 130 guns and mine throwers, and 26 combat aircraft and helicopters, while military expenditures were cut by 1.35 billion lei. The human and financial resources saved were allocated to economic and social development programs. Military assets were redeployed, such as tanks were disarmed and used in agriculture and to enhance irrigation programs. Ceaușescu appealed to European states, the United States of America, and Canada to also unilaterally reduce armaments, troops, and military expenditures by 5%, in the belief that such a reduction would not compromise their defensive military capabilities, but would help facilitate dialogue for disarmament negotiations.

Background

Results

Consequences

References

See also