puppet government that would legitimize the occupation. On June 16, the Lithuanian government, exceeding its authority, decided that Smetona's emigration was in effect a resignation and granted Merkys full presidential powers. On June 17, Merkys appointed Justas Paleckis the new Prime Minister and confirmed the new government, known as the People's Government. Merkys and Urbšys then resigned; both would later be arrested and deported to Russia. Paleckis assumed the presidency and appointed writer Vincas Krėvė-Mickevičius as Prime Minister. The People's Government included several well-known politicians and public figures to reassure the public that the new government was not a tool of Soviet occupation, but a simple replacement of the authoritarian Smetona regime. Since there had been strong opposition to Smetona's rule, it was interpreted by some Lithuanians as a destruction of presidential power rather than as a loss of independence. On July 1, the People's Government dissolved the Fourth Seimas of Lithuania and announced a show election for a "People's Seimas "to be held on July 14. A new electoral law was adopted on July 5. The law, in violation of the constitution, specified that only candidate could stand for each seat available in the parliament. It was also worded in such a way to effectively limit the field to the Lithuanian Communist Party and its supporters. The official fraudulent results showed a voter turnout of 95.51% and support of 99.19% to the communist delegates. Officially, however, 39 of the elected delegates were Communists and 40 were independents. During its first session on July 21, the parliament proclaimed the creation of the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic and petitioned the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union to accept this new republic into the Union. A 20-member Lithuanian delegation presented the case for incorporation in Moscow on August 1. The petition was accepted on August 3 and Lithuania became the 14th republic of the Soviet Union. Sovietization of Lithuania Immediately after the occupation, the new government began implementing political, economic, and social Sovietization policies. On July 1, all cultural and religious organizations were closed. The Communist Party of Lithuania—with some 1,500 members,—and its youth branch were designated the only legitimate political entities. Before the elections to the People's Seimas, the Soviets arrested about 2,000 of the most prominent political activists. These arrests paralyzed the opposition. The repressions continued and intensified. An estimated 12,000 individuals were imprisoned as "enemies of the people" during