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■2-20
III. CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION.
elections. The oldest of these is the social-democratic, the Swedish.
Social Democratic Labour Party (Sveriges socialdemokratiska
arbetareparti), which was founded in 1894. In 1902 the National Liberal
Association (Frisinnade landsföreningen) was created as a foundation for the
United Liberal Party in the Riksdag; and in 1904 the Right formed the
General Electoral League (Allmänna valmansförbundet).
These combinations also exhibit marked resemblances in their organization.
The Social Democratic would seem to be the most firmly knit together. The
party is formed primarily of Labour Communes allied to it; these are combined
— as a rule, by comities — into districts having the function of carrying on
electoral agitation by means of organizations within the constituencies (Constituency
Councils). The will of the party is expressed by a Party-Congress chosen
within the labour communes, and this usually meets every three years. The
Congress chooses a Party Council of 23 persons and, within this body, a Managing
Committee of 7 persons, including a specially appointed president, party-secretary,
and party-treasurer, for the direct control of the party’s work.
The National Liberal Association is managed by a Council of 60 persons,
which from 1914 has been so composed that each of the 56 Constituency
Leagues in which the Local Branches of the Association are combined yearly
appoints one representative, after which the remaining four are chosen by the
annual General Meeting. The Council appoints both its president and the
Managing Committee of 15 men: this last itself chooses its own chairman.
In the General Electoral League the Constituency Associations form the basis of
the organization. The Supervisory Board consists partly of 10 persons chosen
by the annual League Convention, partly of one representative for every
Constituency Association. The Supervisory Board chooses its own president and also a
Managing Committee of at least 5 persons, which likewise chooses its own
chairman.
Especially in the years of parliamentary elections, but also in elections
to county councils and town councils, these organizations develop a lively
outside activity, making use of the customary modes of agitation: election,
meetings with addresses by active politicians and specially commissioned
travelling speakers, the circulation of pamphlets and other printed matter,
and — to an ever growing extent of låte years — personal canvass of the
electors, this last being in the larger towns very elaborately organized;
while the "Social Democratic Young Folk’s League" (formed within the
party) has introduced the motor-car as an auxiliary means of agitation in
the provinces.
The distribution of votes at the general election to the Second Chamber in
the autumn of 1914 was calculated by the Central Bureau of Statistics at
268 631 for the Right (188 691 in 1911), 266 133 for the Social Democrats
(172 196 in 1911), and 196 488 for the Liberals (242 795 in 1911).
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