Parliament Names Gorbachev After Hot Words Fly in Debate

The first competitively elected Soviet Parliament convened today and chose Mikhail S. Gorbachev as the sole candidate for president after rejecting demands that he first report on his accomplishments and failures.

Maverick Communist Boris N. Yeltsin withdrew his nomination bid. A little-known Leningrad deputy, Alexander Obolensky, offered himself as an alternative to Gorbachev, but two-thirds of the 2,250-member Congress of People’s Deputies rejected him.

Obolensky, who is not a member of the ruling Communist Party, said he knew that he had little chance of winning the nomination but wanted to “set a precedent of an alternative.”

Yeltsin, whose anti-Establishment campaign for Parliament garnered 90% of the vote in an election in Moscow, took himself out of the running, saying simply, “I’m withdrawing myself.” He said that as a member of the Communist Party’s Central Committee, he was bound by the committee’s decision to support Gorbachev for reelection.

Human rights activist Andrei D. Sakharov said he would not take part in the secret balloting for the presidency.

No Votes Against Him

“We can’t let these elections just be a formality,” the 1975 Nobel Peace Prize winner said. Sakharov was one of four deputies who abstained when the congress voted to place Gorbachev’s name on the ballot.

No one voted against Gorbachev’s nomination.

Estonian activist Marju Lauristen offered Gorbachev her vote on condition that he answer some tough questions first. For instance, she wanted to know who in the ruling Politburo knew of plans to use troops to break up a pro-independence demonstration in Soviet Georgia, and how soon Gorbachev learned of the plans.

Nineteen people died in the ensuing clash.

Others demanded explanations of privileges enjoyed by Soviet leaders and of a decree banning statements that discredit authorities.

As the inaugural session opened, the congress plunged into spirited debate over its agenda and powers. The lack of parliamentary experience showed.

Pledge Not to Abuse Power

Gorbachev led the proceedings, sitting behind two microphones with a giant statue of Vladimir I. Lenin at his back. He arbitrarily called for votes on some procedural issues while ignoring others. Only a few deputies objected.

At one point, the Soviet president took the microphone for 20 minutes, and in one of his most impassioned political speeches, pledged not to abuse power if reelected.

One of the first deputies to take the floor was Sakharov, who was banished from Moscow until December, 1986, for human rights activities.

Sakharov praised Gorbachev for changing the face of Soviet society and said he should be reelected president but demanded that Gorbachev first give the congress an account of the mistakes and achievements of his reform efforts.