May 1924 German federal election

Federal elections were held in Germany 4 May 1924 to elect the second Reichstag of the Weimar Republic.

May 1924 German federal election

4 May 1924 (1924-05-04)
All 472 seats in the Reichstag 237 seats needed for a majority
Registered	38,374,983 ( 6.7%)
Turnout	77.4% ( 1.8pp)
First party Second party Third party   Leader Hermann Müller Otto Wels Arthur Crispien Oskar Hergt Constantin Fehrenbach Party SPD DNVP Centre Last election 39.5%, 186 seats 15.1%, 71 seats 13.6%, 64 seats Seats won 100 95 65 Seat change 86 24 1 Popular vote 6,008,905 5,696,475 3,914,379 Percentage 20.5% 19.5% 13.4% Swing 19.0 pp 4.4 pp 0.2 pp   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Ruth Fischer & Arkadi Maslow Gustav Stresemann Erich Ludendorff Party KPD DVP NSFP Last election 2.1%, 4 seats 13.9%, 65 seats Did not exist Seats won 62 45 32 Seat change 58 20 New party Popular vote 3,693,280 2,694,381 1,918,329 Percentage 12.6% 9.2% 6.5% Swing 10.5 pp 4.7 pp New party
Government before election First Marx cabinet Z–DVP–BVP–DDP Government after election Second Marx cabinet Z–DVP–DDP

The elections took place in the wake of several national crises the previous year: hyperinflation, the occupation of the Ruhr, conflict between the federal and state governments, as well as the Beer Hall Putsch and German October. A national state of emergency had been declared in response to these events, which the Stresemann cabinets and first Marx cabinet had used to bring them under control to a great extent. Hyperinflation had been controlled with the institution of a new currency in November 1923, and the government was able to bring the Western Allies to the table on the issue of the Ruhr and reparations. When the state of emergency lapsed in March 1924 and, faced with parliamentary opposition to several government decrees, Chancellor Wilhelm Marx requested the dissolution of the Reichstag for new elections.

The elections resulted in losses for the parties of the moderate centre who had been part of government in the previous year: the Catholic Centre Party, German People's Party (DVP), and German Democratic Party (DDP). The Social Democratic Party (SPD) suffered particularly severe losses. Parties of the far right and far left made the most advances: the radical nationalist German National People's Party (DNVP) very nearly surpassed the SPD, while the Communist Party won 13%, and the National Socialist Freedom Movement (NSFP), an alliance of völkisch nationalists and the Nazi Party, won 6.5%.

No clear majority could be formed in the new Reichstag. Wilhelm Marx remained Chancellor in a minority cabinet with the hope of bringing the DNVP into government. The following months were dominated by debate over the Dawes Plan, which would set out a payment plan for reparations. Its passage required a two-thirds majority due to the constitutional amendments necessary, meaning both SPD and DNVP support was needed. The former supported the plan, while the latter was deeply divided: after a controversial session, about half of the DNVP delegation voted in favour, enough to secure its passage. With this major issue resolved, the cabinet negotiated for the DNVP's entry but without success. With no prospect of a stable government, the Reichstag was dissolved in October for fresh elections.

Electoral system

The Reichstag was elected via party list proportional representation. For this purpose, the country was divided into 35 multi-member electoral districts. A party was entitled to a seat for every 60,000 votes won. This was calculated via a three-step process on the constituency level, an intermediary level which combined multiple constituencies, and finally nationwide, where all parties' excess votes were combined. In the third nationwide step, parties could not be awarded more seats than they had already won on the two lower constituency levels. Due to the fixed number of votes per seat, the size of the Reichstag fluctuated between elections based on the number of voters and turnout. The voting age was 25 years.

Results

Party		Votes	%	+/–	Seats	+/–
	Social Democratic Party	6,008,905	20.52	−1.40	100	−3
	German National People's Party	5,696,475	19.45	+4.38	95	+24
	Centre Party	3,914,379	13.37	−0.27	65	+1
	Communist Party of Germany	3,693,280	12.61	+10.52	62	+58
	German People's Party	2,694,381	9.20	−4.70	45	−20
	National Socialist Freedom Movement	1,918,329	6.55	New	32	New
	German Democratic Party	1,655,129	5.65	−2.63	28	−11
	Bavarian People's Party	946,648	3.23	−0.93	16	−4
	Agricultural League	574,939	1.96	New	10	New
	Economic Party of the German Middle Class	500,820	1.71	New	7	New
	German Social Party	333,427	1.14	+1.06	4	+4
	German-Hanoverian Party	319,792	1.09	−0.04	5	0
	Independent Social Democratic Party	235,145	0.80	−16.83	0	−83
	Bavarian Peasants' League	192,786	0.66	−0.12	3	−1
	Christian Social People's Community	124,451	0.43	New	0	New
	Polish People's Party	100,260	0.34	New	0	New
	National Freedom Party	62,071	0.21	New	0	New
	Geusen League	59,222	0.20	New	0	New
	Party of Tenants	45,920	0.16	New	0	New
	Republican Party of Germany	45,722	0.16	New	0	New
	German Workers' Party	36,291	0.12	New	0	New
	Free Economy Union F.F.F.	36,013	0.12	New	0	New
	Socialist League	26,418	0.09	New	0	New
	Haeusser Alliance	24,451	0.08	New	0	New
	Wendish People's Party	10,827	0.04	+0.01	0	0
	National Block	9,561	0.03	New	0	New
	Schleswig Club	7,620	0.03	+0.01	0	0
	Bavarian Middle Class League – Southern Region	5,659	0.02	New	0	New
	Independent Economic Group	1,848	0.01	New	0	New
	Masurian Union	1,029	0.00	New	0	New
Total		29,281,798	100.00	–	472	+13
Valid votes		29,281,798	98.56
Invalid/blank votes		427,582	1.44
Total votes		29,709,380	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		38,374,983	77.42
Source: Gonschior.de

Works cited

• Graper, Elmer (1925). "The Reichstag Elections". American Political Science Review. 19 (2). American Political Science Association: 662–70. doi:10.2307/2938928. JSTOR 2938928.
• Shepard, Walter (1924). "The German Elections". American Political Science Review. 18 (3). American Political Science Association: 528–33. doi:10.2307/1944174. JSTOR 1944174.