1954 Hessian state election

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 led by Minister-President Georg-August Zinn.
The election saw the Free Democratic Party displaced as the main opposition party by the Christian Democratic Union. The All-German Bloc/League of Expellees, 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 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.