Election to the constituent people's chamber in the Free State of Hesse
The election for the constituent people's chamber in the Free State of Hesse took place on January 26, 1919.
initial situation
In the Grand Duchy of Hesse , the power was after the November revolution are effectively performing by workers 'and soldiers' councils were taken over. The reigning Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig was deposed on November 9, 1918 by the Darmstadt Workers 'and Soldiers' Council and the Republic proclaimed. At the time, “ Free State ” was used as a synonym for republic, including in the title of the provisional constitution. The election ordinance then spoke of the Republic of Hesse, and finally the People's State of Hesse prevailed.
The legal basis for the election was the ordinance on the elections to the constituent people's chamber of the Republic of Hesse of December 3, 1918. This meant serious innovations compared to the previous electoral law of the estates of the Grand Duchy of Hesse . The two Hessian chambers became a one-chamber system. The election of the 70 deputies took place in free, equal, secret and direct election with proportional representation . The first time was women's suffrage introduced. The whole of the Free State of Hesse formed one constituency.
The election was scheduled for January 26, 1919. This date was one week after the election to the German National Assembly . For the general political situation see Election to the German National Assembly # Prehistory .
Election result
| Subject of evidence |
be right | Seats | |
|---|---|---|---|
| number | in % | ||
| Eligible voters | 760.053 | 100.0 | |
| Voters | 616.954 | 81.2 | |
| Invalid votes | 1,761 | 0.3 | |
| Valid votes | 615.193 | 100.0 | 70 |
| from that | |||
| Social Democratic Party of Germany | 273,468 | 44.5 | 31 |
| German Democratic Party (Democratic Party in Hesse) | 116.252 | 18.9 | 13 |
| Christian People's Party (Hessian Center Party) | 108,539 | 17.6 | 13 |
| German People's Party | 62,072 | 10.1 | 7th |
| German National People's Party (Hessian People's Party) | 45,785 | 7.4 | 5 |
| Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany | 9,077 | 1.5 | 1 |
For the elected representatives see the list of members of the Landtag (Volksstaat Hessen) (1st electoral period) .
The results of the elections at provincial level were as follows (in%, deviations from the total possible by rounding)
| province | USPD | SPD | DDP | center | DVP | HVP (*) | total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starkenburg | 1.9 | 51.2 | 17.1 | 16 | 9.5 | 4.3 | 100 |
| Province of Upper Hesse | 2.1 | 42.6 | 21st | 5.7 | 6.5 | 22.1 | 100 |
| Rheinhessen | 0.2 | 35.4 | 20th | 29.8 | 14th | 0.6 | 100 |
| Hesse | 1.5 | 44.5 | 18.9 | 17.6 | 10.1 | 7.4 | 100 |
- Hessian People's Party
The results of the elections at district level were as follows (in%, deviations from the total possible due to rounding)
| district | USPD | SPD | DDP | center | DVP | HVP (*) | total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Darmstadt district | 0.8 | 47 | 24.2 | 5.8 | 19.3 | 3.4 | 100 |
| Bensheim district | 0.1 | 44.9 | 13.8 | 26.5 | 10.5 | 4.6 | 100 |
| Dieburg district | 1 | 45.6 | 14.7 | 20.4 | 8.6 | 9.7 | 100 |
| District of Erbach | 0.3 | 57.5 | 23.2 | 3.6 | 9.1 | 6.3 | 100 |
| Groß-Gerau district | 1.8 | 57.7 | 20.8 | 8.6 | 4.9 | 6.7 | 100 |
| Heppenheim district | 0.6 | 42.1 | 11.2 | 37.5 | 7.4 | 1.2 | 100 |
| Offenbach district | 4.7 | 57.5 | 12.3 | 19.2 | 3.8 | 2.5 | 100 |
| Pouring circle | 2.7 | 42.5 | 20.9 | 2.3 | 8.5 | 23.8 | 100 |
| Alsfeld district | 0 | 33.6 | 20.9 | 5.4 | 4.5 | 35.6 | 100 |
| Büdingen district | 1.6 | 53 | 22.5 | 1.1 | 3 | 18.8 | 100 |
| Friedberg | 3.8 | 48.6 | 16.2 | 13.5 | 5.4 | 17.5 | 100 |
| Lauterbach district | 0 | 40.8 | 25.9 | 5 | 12.5 | 15.8 | 100 |
| Circle bulkheads | 0.1 | 37.7 | 32.6 | 0.3 | 3.8 | 25.5 | 100 |
| Mainz district | 0.6 | 45.1 | 17.7 | 33 | 4.1 | 0.1 | 100 |
| Alzey district | 0 | 25.8 | 33.4 | 19.8 | 21.5 | 0.5 | 100 |
| Bingen district | 0 | 22.8 | 22.1 | 46.7 | 7.9 | 0.5 | 100 |
| Oppenheim district | 0 | 25.7 | 27.5 | 29.4 | 16.5 | 0.9 | 100 |
| District of Worms | 0 | 34.6 | 13.9 | 21.6 | 28.5 | 1.4 | 100 |
The center had its party strongholds in the Catholic areas of Rheinhessen and southern Hesse. The main focus of the SPD was in the large, industrialized cities, above all Offenbach am Main .
consequences
The election for the constituent assembly was won by the SPD. As a result, Ulrich II's cabinet was elected, a government made up of the Weimar coalition . The first state parliament of the People's State of Hesse passed the Hessian Constitution on December 12, 1919. The next state election in Hesse was the state election in the People's State of Hesse in 1921 .
literature
- Eckhart G. Franz: Parliament in the struggle for democracy: The Landtag of the People's State of Hesse 1919–1933, 1991, ISBN 3884430270 , pp. 43, 73–186.
- Communications from the Hessian Central Office for State Statistics, No. 994, February, March 1919, pp. 85 ff.
- “Majority for the SPD in the elections in the People's State of Hesse, January 26, 1919”, in: Contemporary History in Hesse < https://www.lagis-hessen.de/de/subjects/idrec/sn/edb/id/504 > (As of March 29, 2019)
Individual evidence
- ^ Manfred Knodt : The regents of Hessen-Darmstadt. Verlag H. L. Schlapp, 2nd edition, Darmstadt 1977, p. 149.
- ↑ Hess.Reg.Bl. P. 245
- ^ The People's State of Hesse: Volkskammer election 1919 on www.gonschior.de
