1974 Hessian state election

The 1974 Hessian state election was held on 27 October 1974 to elect the 8th Landtag of Hesse. The outgoing government was a coalition of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and Free Democratic Party (FDP) led by Minister-President Albert Osswald.

1974 Hessian state election

← 1970 27 October 1974 1978 →
All 110 seats in the Landtag of Hesse 56 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	3,264,209 (84.8% 2.0pp)
First party Second party Third party   Candidate Alfred Dregger Albert Osswald Heinz-Herbert Karry Party CDU SPD FDP Last election 46 seats, 39.7% 53 seats, 45.9% 11 seats, 10.1% Seats won 53 49 8 Seat change 7 4 3 Popular vote 1,528,793 1,394,123 238,726 Percentage 47.3% 43.2% 7.4% Swing 7.6pp 2.7pp 2.7pp
Results for the single-member constituencies.
Government before election Second Osswald cabinet SPD–FDP Government after election Third Osswald cabinet SPD–FDP

The opposition Christian Democratic Union (CDU) achieved a significant victory by becoming the largest party in Hesse for the first time. The state had long been considered a stronghold of the SPD. Despite this, the SPD and FDP retained a narrow majority between them and renewed their coalition for a second term.

Electoral system

The Landtag was elected via mixed-member proportional representation. 55 members were elected in single-member constituencies via first-past-the-post voting, and 55 then allocated using compensatory proportional representation. A single ballot was used for both. 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

Main article: 1970 Hessian state election

In the previous election held on 8 November 1970, the CDU achieved a major swing and increased its vote share to just under 40%, offering a serious challenge to the SPD for the first time in decades. Though remaining the largest party with 46%, the SPD were deprived of their majority and formed a coalition government with the FDP.

Parties

The table below lists parties represented in the 7th Landtag of Hesse.

Name			Ideology	Lead candidate	1970 result
					Votes (%)	Seats
	SPD	Social Democratic Party of Germany Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands	Social democracy	Albert Osswald	45.9%	53 / 110
	CDU	Christian Democratic Union of Germany Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands	Christian democracy	Alfred Dregger	39.7%	46 / 110
	FDP	Free Democratic Party Freie Demokratische Partei	Classical liberalism	Heinz Herbert Karry	10.1%	11 / 110

Results

Party		Votes	%	+/–	Seats
					Con.	List	Total	+–
	Christian Democratic Union	1,528,793	47.32	+7.59	35	18	53	+7
	Social Democratic Party	1,394,123	43.16	–2.75	20	29	49	–4
	Free Democratic Party	238,726	7.39	–2.68	0	8	8	–3
	National Democratic Party	32,713	1.01	–2.00	0	0	0	0
	German Communist Party	28,699	0.89	–0.28	0	0	0	0
	Communist Party of Germany (AO)	4,168	0.13	New	0	0	0	New
	Communist League of West Germany	2,732	0.08	New	0	0	0	New
	League of German Communists	352	0.01	New	0	0	0	New
	European Labour Committees	23	0.00	New	0	0	0	New
	Independents	91	0.00	0.00	0	–	0	0
Total		3,230,420	100.00	–	55	55	110	0
Valid votes		3,230,420	98.96
Invalid/blank votes		33,789	1.04
Total votes		3,264,209	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		3,850,223	84.78

External links

• "Final Results for the Landtag election of 27 October 1974" (PDF). Parliamentary Data Bank of the Hessian Landtag (in German). 7 November 1974. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
• "Elections for the 8th Hessian state parliament, October 27, 1974". Hessian Regional History Information System (in German). Retrieved 15 September 2023.

Notes