1919 German federal election

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1919 German federal election

Federal elections were held in Germany on 19 January 1919,[1] although members of the standing army in the east did not vote until 2 February. The elections were the first of the new Weimar Republic, which had been established after World War I and the Revolution of 1918–19, and the first with women's suffrage. The previous constituencies, which heavily overrepresented rural areas, were scrapped, and the elections held using a form of proportional representation.[2] The voting age was also lowered from 25 to 20.[3] Austrian citizens living in Germany were allowed to vote, with German citizens living in Austria being allowed to vote in the February 1919 Constitutional Assembly elections.[4]

Quick Facts All 423 seats in the Weimar National Assembly 212 seats needed for a majority, Registered ...
1919 German federal election

 1912 19 January 1919 (1919-01-19) 1920 

All 423 seats in the Weimar National Assembly
212 seats needed for a majority
Registered36,779,888 (Increase 154.7%)
Turnout83.0% (Decrease 1.9pp)
  First party Second party Third party
 
SPD 1919 leadership.jpg
Adolf Gröber in 1918.jpg
Friedrich von Payer.jpg
Leader Friedrich Ebert &
Philipp Scheidemann
Adolf Gröber Friedrich von Payer
Party SPD CVP DDP
Seats won 165 91 75
Popular vote 11,516,852 5,980,259 5,643,506
Percentage 37.9% 19.7% 18.6%

  Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party
 
Nicola Perscheid - Arthur von Posadowsky-Wehner (3x4 cropped).jpg
Hugo Haase circa 1911 3x4.jpg
Dr. Rudolf Heinze.jpg
Leader Arthur von Posadowsky-Wehner Hugo Haase Rudolf Heinze
Party DNVP USPD DVP
Seats won 44 22 19
Popular vote 3,121,541 2,319,235 1,345,712
Percentage 10.3% 7.6% 4.4%


Government before election

Council of the People's Deputies
SPDUSPD

Government after election

Scheidemann cabinet
SPDDDPZ

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From its inaugural session on 6 February, the National Assembly (Nationalversammlung) functioned as both a constituent assembly and unicameral legislature. The supporting parties of the "Weimar Coalition" (SPD, Zentrum and DDP) together won 76.2% of the votes cast; on 13 February, provisional president Friedrich Ebert appointed Philipp Scheidemann, of the SPD, as Minister-President. The office was later renamed Chancellor when the Weimar Constitution came into force in August 1919. The Scheidemann cabinet replaced the revolutionary Rat der Volksbeauftragten (Council of the People's Deputies). Voter turnout was 83.0%.[5]

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, Elsass–Lothringen, was unable to hold its elections due to having been annexed by France in the aftermath of World War I, and in another, Posen, amidst the Greater Poland uprising, Poles boycotted the vote.

More information Party, Votes ...
Thumb
PartyVotes%Seats
Social Democratic Party11,509,04837.86163
Christian People's Party[a]5,980,21619.6791
German Democratic Party[b]5,641,82518.5675
German National People's Party[c]3,121,47910.2744
Independent Social Democratic Party2,317,2907.6222
German People's Party1,345,6384.4319
Bavarian Peasants' League275,1250.914
German-Hanoverian Party77,2260.251
Schleswig-Holstein Farmers and Farmworkers Democracy57,9130.191
Brunswick State Electoral Association56,8580.191
Mecklenburg Village League10,8910.040
German Peace Party3,5030.010
German Officials', Employees' and Middle Class Party1,4380.000
Christian Social Party6640.000
Middle Class Party6400.000
German Social Aristocracy2790.000
Democratic Middle Class Party2080.000
Social Reform Party450.000
Total30,400,286100.00421
Valid votes30,400,28699.59
Invalid/blank votes124,5620.41
Total votes30,524,848100.00
Registered voters/turnout36,766,50083.02
Source: Gonschior.de
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  1. 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).
  2. 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)
  3. 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

More information Party, Votes ...
PartyVotes%Seats
Social Democratic Party7,80460.042
Independent Social Democratic Party1,94514.960
German Democratic Party1,68112.930
Non-partisan lists1,38910.690
German People's Party740.570
German National People's Party620.480
Christian People's Party430.330
Total12,998100.002
Valid votes12,99897.09
Invalid/blank votes3902.91
Total votes13,388100.00
Source: Nohlen & Stöver, Gonschior.de
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References

Works cited

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