In accordance with this provision, Vares took over the functions of the president in order to give legal sanction to the formal annexation of Estonia by the Soviet Union in August. However, during times of war or incapacitation lasting longer than six months, the constitution provides for the election of an acting president by the Electoral Council. The Electoral Council met in secret on 20 April 1944, and determined that the appointment of Vares as prime minister in 1940 was unlawful according to the 1938 constitution.