Russian constitutional referendum, 1993
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A constitutional referendum was held in Russia on 12 December 1993.
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 expe ...
& Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1642
The new constitution was approved by 58.4% of voters, and came into force on 25 December.


Background

Since 1992, President Boris Yeltsin had been arguing that the 1978 constitution was obsolete and needed replacing.The Constitution and Government Structure
Country Studies
He called for a new constitution which would grant more powers to the President. However, two competing drafts of a new constitution were drawn up by the government and the Congress of People's Deputies. Failure of the two groups to reach a compromise led to Yeltsin dissolving the Congress of People's Deputies in September 1993, leading to a constitutional crisis. Yeltsin then called a Constitutional Assembly that was sympathetic to his views. The Assembly subsequently drafted a constitution that provided for a strong presidency, and was published on 11 November.Richard Sakwa (2008) ''Russian politics and society'' Taylor & Francis, p64


Name

This referendum was officially named "nationwide voting" (russian: всенародное голосование, vsenarodnoye golosovaniye) in documents. Translated:


Results

Voter turnout was officially reported as 54.4%,Nohlen & Stöver, p1648 over the 50% threshold required to validate the referendum. However, doubts remained over the accuracy of the turnout figure, exacerbated by the quick destruction of ballots and area tallies.


By region


References

{{Russian elections Referendums in Russia 1993 referendums 1993 in Russia 1993 elections in Russia Constitutional referendums December 1993 events in Russia 1993 Russian constitutional crisis