1954 East German general election

none East Germany 1949 parliamentary 98.41% ( 0.09pp) 1950 East German general election 1950 yes 1954 10 17 1958 East German general election 1958 List of members of the first Volkskammer List of members of the second Volkskammer 400 out of 466 seats in the Volkskammer 100px Walter Ulbricht National Front Socialist Unity Party of Germany 117 7 Chairman of the Council of Ministers Otto Grotewohl Socialist Unity Party of Germany Chairman of the Council of Ministers after election Otto Grotewohl Socialist Unity Party of Germany General elections were held in East Germany on 17 October 1954. It was the second election to the Volkskammer, which had 466 deputies; due to the four-power status of the city of Berlin, the 66 deputies from East Berlin were indirectly appointed by the East Berlin magistrate. As the country was a de facto one-party state, voters only had the option of approving or rejecting a single list of candidates from the National Front, dominated by the Communist Socialist Unity Party of Germany. The list received the approval of 99.46% of voters, with turnout reported to be 98.5%.Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p779 978-3-8329-5609-7 Like all East German elections before the Peaceful Revolution, this election was neither free nor fair. Voters were only presented with a closed list of candidates (pre-approved by the SED Central Committee Secretariat) put forward by the National Front. The list predetermined an outcome whereby the SED had both the largest faction in the Volkskammer and a majority of its members, as almost all of the Volkskammer members elected for one of the mass organizations were also members of the SED. While voters could reject the list, they would have to use the polling booth, the use of which was documented by Stasi informants located at every polling site, and had to cross out every name, as "Yes" and "No" boxes were removed after the 1950 election. Abstaining from voting was also seen as oppositional and punished. While legally permissible according to East German election laws, widespread election monitoring was not done out of fear for repression until the 1989 local elections.https://www.aufarbeitung-berlin.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Dokumente/Publikationen/Broschuere_Wahlen-in-der-DDR.pdf Wahlen in der DDR Federal Foundation for the Reappraisal of the SED Dictatorship de 2025-12-04https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYplfGBMRas MitBeStimmen: Wahlen in der DDR: So unterschiedlich sind Demokratie und Diktatur 2022-08-08 Bundesstiftung Aufarbeitung Brand 2025-12-04 YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lc1bpYTj6r4 Wahlfälschung bei der DDR-Kommunalwahl 1989 - Der Anfang vom Ende FAKT 2019-05-21 MDR Investigativ 2025-12-04 YouTube Results List of members of the second Volkskammer File:1954–1958 Volkskammer.svg National Front 10 Socialist Unity Party of Germany 11828877 10 117 +7 Free German Trade Union Federation 53 +4 Christian Democratic Union 52 –15 Liberal Democratic Party of Germany 52 –14 National Democratic Party of Germany 52 +17 Democratic Farmers' Party of Germany 52 +19 Democratic Women's League of Germany 29 +9 Free German Youth 29 +4 Cultural Association of the GDR 18 –6 Peasants Mutual Aid Association 12 0 Against and invalid 63972 0 11892849 12085380 Nohlen & Stöver References Category:1954 in East Germany Category:Elections in East Germany Category:1954 elections in Germany East Germany Category:October 1954 in Europe