This Diet was initially planned to have 120 deputies, apportioned as follows: 84 (70%) to the Moldavians (ethnic Romanians), 36 to the minorities. 44 were to be elected by the "Congress of Moldavian Soldiers from all Russia", 30 by the peasants, 10 by the Moldavian organizations, 36 by the minorities. This number was later increased to 135, and then 150. These figures were based on estimates of the population of Bessarabia as consisting 70% of Moldavians, and 30% of minorities. "This appears to be a fairly accurate guess; the official Russian figures, which the Moldavians considered as inaccurate and padded, set the Moldavian proportion considerably lower, as about one-half. Such figures are misleading in all European countries of mixed nationalities, since the census enumerator generally has instructions to count everyone who understands the state language as being of that nationality, no matter what his everyday speech may be." The original 135 Diet mandates were divided into 28 constituency groups: