Ballot paper of 1949 East German general election

Elections for the Third German People's Congress were held in

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

on 15 and 16 May 1949. Voters were presented with a "Unity List" from the " Bloc of the Anti-Fascist Democratic Parties," which was dominated by the Communist-leaning

Socialist Unity Party of Germany The Socialist Unity Party of Germany (german: Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands, ; SED, ), often known in English as the East German Communist Party, was the founding and ruling party of the German Democratic Republic (GDR; East German ...

(SED). The ballot was worded "''I am for the unity of Germany and a just

peace treaty A peace treaty is an agreement between two or more hostile parties, usually countries or governments, which formally ends a state of war between the parties. It is different from an armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring ...

. I therefore vote for the following list of candidates for the Third German People's Congress,''" with voters having the options of voting "yes" and "no".Ballot paper
Direct Democracy In much of the country, the vote was not secret.Germany
at

Encyclopædia Britannica The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various t ...

According to official figures, 95.2% of voters voted, and 66% of them approved the list, Dieter Nohlen & Phillip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p771 the lowest vote share an SED-dominated bloc received during the subsequent four decades of Communist rule. In all subsequent elections until the Peaceful Revolution, the National Front, successor to the Democratic Bloc, would win 99 percent or more of the vote.

Results

Aftermath

The Constitutional Assembly adopted East Germany's first constitution in October, and proclaimed the establishment of the German Democratic Republic on 7 October. It then transformed itself into the first

Volkskammer __NOTOC__ The Volkskammer (, ''People's Chamber'') was the unicameral legislature of the German Democratic Republic (colloquially known as East Germany). The Volkskammer was initially the lower house of a bicameral legislature. The upper house w ...

References

East German East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

Constitutional Assembly election Elections in East Germany Single-candidate elections

Aftermath of World War II in Germany German reunification

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