State election in North Rhine-Westphalia in 1950
The second state election in North Rhine-Westphalia took place on June 18, 1950.
In addition to the state election, there was also a referendum on a draft constitution. This draft by the CDU and the Center was approved by the state parliament on June 5 and 6, 1950, with a majority of 110 votes in the third reading.
In order to be able to conclude the deliberations on the state constitution, the legislative period set for three years in 1947 was extended by a quarter of a year. This process is unique in the history of the country to this day (as of 2012).
prehistory
After the first free elections in 1947, Karl Arnold tried to form an all-party government, but this failed because of the FDP , which did not take part in the government. So he formed a government made up of CDU, SPD, Zentrum and KPD. Arnold dismissed the two ministers of the KPD, Heinz Renner and Hugo Paul, on April 5, 1948, after they had refused to distance themselves from the politics of their faction.
After the election
Arnold was re- elected Prime Minister on July 27, 1950 . Since no coalition agreement had been reached by then, Arnold initially appointed a cabinet consisting only of CDU members on August 1st . On September 15, after the CDU and the center had agreed a coalition, the cabinet was expanded to include two center and three CDU ministers. The CDU / center coalition had a majority of three votes due to the overhang mandates of the CDU.
The election campaign was dominated by the state constitution. In particular, the anchoring of the denominational school in the constitution was controversial. The CDU and the center campaigned for the adoption of the constitution, the SPD, KPD and FDP against. The CDU waived a direct candidate in twelve constituencies. The FDP, which won them, was able to benefit from this in five constituencies. The center could not win a constituency.
Result of the referendum
| Draft constitution | be right absolutely |
|---|---|
| YES | 3,627,054 |
| NO | 2,240,674 |
| invalid | 496,555 |
On July 8, 1950, the British military government also approved the constitution. So this came into force on July 11, 1950.
Result of the state election
Election of June 18, 1950
Eligible voters: 8,892,305
Voters: 6,433,003
Turnout: 72.34%
Valid votes: 6,201,117
| Political party | agree completely |
Share in% |
Electoral kreisbe- tors |
Direct MAN date |
Seats |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CDU | 2,286,644 | 36.87 | 138 | 93 | 93 |
| SPD | 2,005,312 | 32.34 | 150 | 52 | 68 |
| FDP | 748.926 | 12.08 | 132 | 5 | 26th |
| center | 466.497 | 7.52 | 149 | 16 | |
| KPD | 338,862 | 5.46 | 150 | 12 | |
| RSF | 122,878 | 1.98 | 87 | ||
| DRP | 107.104 | 1.73 | 87 | ||
| DP | 106.351 | 1.72 | 131 | ||
| SRP | 11,359 | 0.18 | 3 | ||
| CSAB | 107 | 0.00 | 1 | ||
| Individual applicants | 7,077 | 0.11 | 5 | ||
| Total | 6.201.117 | 1033 | 150 | 215 |
The CDU received 15 overhang mandates, the total number of mandates increased from 200 to 215.
Distribution of seats at the end of the electoral term: CDU 94, SPD 67, FDP 26, Zentrum 16, KPD 12
See also
- Arnold II cabinet
- List of state electoral districts in North Rhine-Westphalia 1950
- List of members of the state parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia (2nd electoral period)
