Nosek refused, and was supported by Prime Minister and Communist Party leader Klement Gottwald.

He not only refused to resign, but demanded the appointment of a Communist-dominated government under threat of a general strike.

[2] Fearing Red Army intervention, Beneš gave way on 25 February and appointed a new government in accordance with Gottwald's demands.

Voters were presented with a single list from the National Front, a postwar coalition that had been converted into a Communist-dominated patriotic organisation.

However, since no party could take part in the political process without KSČ approval, Communist control was now total.

The 89.2 percent received by the Front would be the lowest vote share that it would claim during the 41 years of Communist rule in Czechoslovakia.