Local elections in the GDR in 1979
The local elections in the GDR in 1979 took place on May 20, 1979. It was the seventh local elections in the GDR .
Electoral system
It was a sham election . It could only be voted on the unified list of the National Front . The election did not affect the strength of the factions. Their size was determined in advance. The electoral law of the GDR allowed public control of the electoral count on paper. In practice, this did not take place for fear of repression. All ballot papers for which not all candidates had been struck off were counted as approval of the list of the National Front. The representatives were determined in municipalities, cities and districts .
The local elections also took place in East Berlin . Due to the four-power status of the city of Berlin, East Berlin was not part of the GDR, but the “City Council of Greater Berlin” (meaning East Berlin) was in fact equivalent to a district day.
Election result
In the local elections, 27,188 seats were available. In addition, 8,103 successors were elected for the 7777 district assemblies, city council meetings, city district assemblies and community councils. In East Berlin nine city council assemblies, including for the first time that of the newly created Marzahn district , were occupied. More than 12 million residents were eligible to vote; according to official figures, the turnout was 98.28%. 212,601 eligible voters did not then vote. 3717 ballot papers were invalid. According to the official figures, 99.82% of the voters voted for the unit list. 0.18% or 21,220 votes were shown as votes against. Rejection was highest in East Berlin (0.43%) and lowest in the Rostock district with 0.07%.
In the district assemblies and city council assemblies of the city districts, 27,168 mandates were awarded. In the city council assemblies of the towns and municipal councils belonging to the district, this was 170,427 and in the city district assemblies 3975. These were distributed according to the following key (it should be noted here that the representatives of the mass organizations were often also SED members):
| Party / group | acronym | Seats district assemblies | Seats city councils | Seats borough councils | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Socialist Unity Party of Germany | SED | 4997 | 58,430 | 689 | |
| Free German Federation of Trade Unions | FDGB | 6112 | 25,583 | 1189 | |
| Christian Democratic Union of Germany | CDU | 1942 | 10,024 | 245 | |
| Liberal Democratic Party of Germany | LDPD | 1868 | 5594 | 253 | |
| Democratic Peasant Party of Germany | DBD | 1874 | 13,493 | 128 | |
| National Democratic Party of Germany | NDPD | 1919 | 5268 | 255 | |
| Free German Youth | FDJ | 3873 | 17,256 | 659 | |
| Democratic Women's Association of Germany | DFD | 2718 | 18,751 | 385 | |
| Kulturbund | KB | 730 | 1788 | 90 | |
| Association of mutual farmers' aid | VdgB / BHG | 623 | 6864 | 4th | |
| Consumer cooperatives | Consumer cooperatives | 511 | 5493 | 69 | |
| National front | National front | 1 | 1883 | ./. | |
Legal bases
The legal basis for the election was the Election Act of June 24, 1976. The size of the respective local parliaments was determined by a resolution of the GDR State Council of December 7, 1978.
swell
- 99.82% voted for the unit list; in: FAZ of May 22, 1979, p. 6.
- Peter J. Lapp: Elections in the GDR, 1982, ISBN 3-921-226-16-3 , pp. 21, 39, 40.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Law on the elections to the representatives of the people of the German Democratic Republic of June 24, 1976, Journal of Laws of I No. 22, p. 301, printed by Lapp: Elections in the GDR, p. 117 ff.
- ↑ Resolution of the Council of State of the German Democratic Republic of December 7, 1978 on the composition of the district assemblies, city council assemblies, city district assemblies and municipal councils of December 7, 1978, Journal I, No. 42, December 21, 1978, printed by Lapp: Elections in the GDR , P. 131 ff.