1919 German federal election
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All 423 seats in the Weimar National Assembly 212 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Registered | 36,779,888 ( 154.7%) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Turnout | 83.0% ( 1.9pp) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Alsace-Lorraine, Posen) pending Treaty of Versailles
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This article is part of a series on the |
Politics of Germany |
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From its inaugural session on 6 February, the
Electoral system
The 423 seats of the National Constituent Assembly were set to be elected in 38 multi-member constituencies of between six and 17 seats using party-list proportional representation. Two seats were reserved for representatives of standing troops in the east of the country. Apparentment was also in effect, allowing parties to form coalitions in constituencies, using one common list (although a party could only win seats if it put forward candidates in those constituencies). The voting age was set at 20.
Campaign
The Social Democratic Party (SPD) supported Germany's involvement in World War I. Anti-war members of the party formed the Independent Social Democratic Party (USPD). The Council of the People's Deputies was initially made up of members of both parties, but the USPD left following the usage of the Freikorps to suppress the Spartacist uprising.[6]
The Communist Party boycotted the election.[7]
Results
The SPD saw their share of the vote increased compared to the previous election despite the presence of the USPD. The SPD formed a coalition with the Catholic Centre Party and German Democratic Party.[8]
One constituency established by the Electoral Regulations,
Party | Votes | % | Seats | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Social Democratic Party | 11,509,048 | 37.86 | 163 | |
Christian People's Party[a] | 5,980,216 | 19.67 | 91 | |
German Democratic Party[b] | 5,641,825 | 18.56 | 75 | |
German National People's Party[c] | 3,121,479 | 10.27 | 44 | |
Independent Social Democratic Party | 2,317,290 | 7.62 | 22 | |
German People's Party | 1,345,638 | 4.43 | 19 | |
Bavarian Peasants' League | 275,125 | 0.91 | 4 | |
German-Hanoverian Party | 77,226 | 0.25 | 1 | |
Schleswig-Holstein Farmers and Farmworkers Democracy | 57,913 | 0.19 | 1 | |
Brunswick State Electoral Association | 56,858 | 0.19 | 1 | |
Mecklenburg Village League | 10,891 | 0.04 | 0 | |
German Peace Party | 3,503 | 0.01 | 0 | |
German Officials', Employees' and Middle Class Party | 1,438 | 0.00 | 0 | |
Christian Social Party | 664 | 0.00 | 0 | |
Middle Class Party | 640 | 0.00 | 0 | |
German Social Aristocracy | 279 | 0.00 | 0 | |
Democratic Middle Class Party | 208 | 0.00 | 0 | |
Social Reform Party | 45 | 0.00 | 0 | |
Total | 30,400,286 | 100.00 | 421 | |
Valid votes | 30,400,286 | 99.59 | ||
Invalid/blank votes | 124,562 | 0.41 | ||
Total votes | 30,524,848 | 100.00 | ||
Registered voters/turnout | 36,766,500 | 83.02 | ||
Source: Gonschior.de |
- ^ The Christian People's Party total includes 270,771 votes and four seats from a common Centre Party–German-Hanoverian Party party list in constituency 16 (Hannover/Hildesheim/Lüneburg/Braunschweig).
- ^ The German Democratic Party total includes 142,103 votes and two seats from a common German Democratic Party–German People's Party list in constituency 21 (Coblenz/Trier)
- ^ The German National People's Party total includes 503,755 votes and seven seats from joint German National People's Party–German People's Party lists in constituencies 18 (Arnsberg), 22 (Düsseldorf West), and 36 (Thuringia).
Representatives of standing troops in the East
Party | Votes | % | Seats | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Social Democratic Party | 7,804 | 60.04 | 2 | |
Independent Social Democratic Party | 1,945 | 14.96 | 0 | |
German Democratic Party | 1,681 | 12.93 | 0 | |
Non-partisan lists | 1,389 | 10.69 | 0 | |
German People's Party | 74 | 0.57 | 0 | |
German National People's Party | 62 | 0.48 | 0 | |
Christian People's Party | 43 | 0.33 | 0 | |
Total | 12,998 | 100.00 | 2 | |
Valid votes | 12,998 | 97.09 | ||
Invalid/blank votes | 390 | 2.91 | ||
Total votes | 13,388 | 100.00 | ||
Source: Nohlen & Stöver, Gonschior.de |
References
- ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7
- ^ Nohlen & Stöver, p747
- ^ Nohlen & Stöver, pp746–748
- ^ Austria votes today. – German Part of Former Dual Monarchy Chooses Its Constituent Assembly., The New York Times, 16 February 1919 (PDF)
- ^ Nohlen & Stöver, p776
- ^ Childers 1983, p. 34.
- ^ Childers 1983, p. 35.
- ^ Childers 1983, p. 36.
Works cited
- ISBN 0807815705.