The 1954 Hessian state election was held on 28 November 1954 to elect the 3rd Landtag of Hesse. The outgoing government was a majority of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) led by Minister-President Georg-August Zinn.

The election saw the Free Democratic Party (FDP) displaced as the main opposition party by the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). The All-German Bloc/League of Expellees (GB/BHE), which in 1950 ran in alliance with the FDP, won 8%. Modifications to the electoral system saw the SPD deprived of its majority despite only minor losses, and the party formed a coalition with the GB/HBE.

Electoral system

The Landtag was elected via mixed-member proportional representation. 48 members were elected in single-member constituencies via first-past-the-post voting, and 48 then allocated using compensatory proportional representation. A single ballot was used for both. The size of the Landtag was increased in this election from 80 to 96 by the addition of more compensatory seats. An electoral threshold of 5% of valid votes is applied to the Landtag; parties that fall below this threshold are ineligible to receive seats.

Background

In the previous election held on 19 November 1950, the SPD won a majority of seats with 44% of the vote. An alliance of the FDP and GB/BHE made up the second largest group, winning 32%, followed by the CDU on 19%. This represented a major reversal in the two parties' positions compared to 1946. The Communist Party (KPD) narrowly fell below the 5% threshold and lost its seats. Georg-August Zinn became Minister-President in the new SPD majority government.

Parties

The table below lists parties represented in the 2nd Landtag of Hesse.

Name Ideology Lead
candidate
1950 result
Votes (%) Seats
SPD Social Democratic Party of Germany
Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands
Social democracy Georg-August Zinn 44.4%
47 / 80
FDP Free Democratic Party
Freie Demokratische Partei
Classical liberalism August-Martin Euler 31.8%
13 / 80
GB/BHE All-German Bloc/League of Expellees and Deprived of Rights
Gesamtdeutscher Block/Bund der Heimatvertriebenen und Entrechteten
National conservatism Gotthard Franke
8 / 80
CDU Christian Democratic Union of Germany
Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands
Christian democracy Wilhelm Fay 18.8%
12 / 80

Results

PartyVotes%+/–Seats
Con.ListTotal+–
Social Democratic Party1,065,73342.61–1.7641344–3
Christian Democratic Union603,69124.14+5.3351924+12
Free Democratic Party513,42120.53New21921+8
All-German Bloc/League of Expellees192,3907.69New077–1
Communist Party84,0133.36–1.390000
German Party29,3091.17New000New
Alliance of Germans12,0470.48New000New
Free Opposition4160.02New000New
Independents2530.01–0.05000
Total2,501,273100.00484896+16
Valid votes2,501,27397.73
Invalid/blank votes58,1362.27
Total votes2,559,409100.00
Registered voters/turnout3,105,12582.43

Notes

  1. ^ Previously ran with GB/BHE, winning 31.8% and 21 seats (13 FDP).
  2. ^ Previously ran with FDP, winning 31.8% and 21 seats (8 GB/BHE).
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