Berlin State Elections 1946

Berlin's first state election was held on October 20, 1946, and it was Berlin's first and last global election during the period between the end of World War II and German reunification. In these elections the Berlin Chamber of Deputies was not elected, but the Berliner Stadtverordnetenversammlung, parliament of the city at that time.

The clear winner of the election was the SPD under Otto Ostrowski, who with 48.7%, and 63 of 130 seats became the most voted party, despite losing the absolute majority that held in the designated parliament by the Soviet occupying forces. In second place came the CDU with its candidate Ferdinand Friedensburg with 22.2% of the votes and 29 seats. The SED, formed by the merger of the SPD with the KPD in the Soviet occupation zone, suffered an overwhelming defeat with 19.8% of the votes and 26 seats. The remaining 9.3% of the votes were cast for the LDP, which received twelve seats.

Participation was 92.3%. The result showed a clear rejection of the Berliners towards the Soviet occupying forces.

The Parliament decided to elect Ernst Reuter as mayor, forming a black-red-yellow coalition of the SPD, the CDU and the LDP, which meant entering into conflicts with the Soviet occupation, since in this way the SED became the only opposition party. In 1948, the SED, which acted very agitated during the legislature, lost its parliamentary representation and did not participate in the following elections. Results

The results were:

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