1945 Austrian legislative election

The elections to the Austrian National Council held on 25 November 1945 were the first after World War II. The elections were held according to the Austrian election law of 1929, with all citizens at least 21 years old eligible to vote,[1] however former Nazis were banned from voting, official sources putting their numbers at around 200,000.[2]

1945 Austrian legislative election
25 November 1945
165 seats in the National Council of Austria
83 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Leopold Figl Adolf Schärf Johann Koplenig
Party ÖVP SPÖ KPÖ
Leader since 17 April 1945 15 December 1945 1924
Seats won 85 76 4
Popular vote 1,602,227 1,434,898 174,257
Percentage 49.80% 44.60% 5.42%
Chancellor before election

Karl Renner (Acting)
SPÖ

 Elected Chancellor

Leopold Figl
ÖVP

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The Austrian People's Party, comprising elements of the prewar Christian Social Party under the leadership of Leopold Figl, won a decisive victory, receiving just under half of the vote and 85 of the 165 seats in the National Council. With an outright majority of two seats, the ÖVP could have governed alone. However, Figl retained with the three-party grand coalition alongside the Socialists and Communists. The Communists, who had been equally represented in the government of Figl's predecessor, Socialist Karl Renner, since the end of the war, only received one cabinet post.[3]

On 20 December 1945 the Federal Assembly of Austria unanimously elected incumbent Chancellor Renner as President of Austria. Renner swore in Figl as new chancellor on the same day.[4][5]

The Communists only gained four seats, which some blamed on the conduct of the Red Army in the Soviet occupied zone of Austria.[6] This proved to be the beginning of a long decline for the Communists, though they stayed in the chamber until May 1959.

Results
 Summary of the 25 November 1945 National Council of Austria election results
Parties Votes % Seats
Austrian People's Party (Österreichische Volkspartei) 1,602,227 49.80 85
Socialist Party of Austria (Sozialistische Partei Österreichs) 1,434,898 44.60 76
Communist Party of Austria (Kommunistische Partei Österreichs) 174,257 5.42 4
Democratic Party of Austria (Demokratische Partei Österreichs) 5,972 0.18 0
Invalid/blank votes35,975––
Total (turnout 94%) 3,253,329 100.0 165
Source: Nohlen, D & Stöver, P (2010). Elections in Europe: A data handbook. p. 213.
Popular vote
ÖVP
 
 49.80%
SPÖ
 
 44.60%
KPÖ
 
 5.42%
DPÖ
 
 0.18%
Parliamentary seats
ÖVP
 
 51.52%
SPÖ
 
 46.06%
KPÖ
 
 2.42%

References
  1. Herald Journal - 24 November 1945 (Google News), retrieved 19 May 2010
  2. Ottawa Citizen - 23 November 1945 (Google News), retrieved 19 May 2010
  3. Federal Chancellery of Austria - Austrian Chancellors and Cabinets since 1945 Archived 2013-12-26 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved 19 May 2010
  4. President of Austria - Dr. Karl Renner Archived 2011-05-14 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved 19 May 2010
  5. Herald Journal - 21 December 1945 (Google News), retrieved 19 May 2010
  6. The Sydney Morning Herald - 27 November 1945 (Google News), retrieved 19 May 2010


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