1990 East German general election

1990 East German general election
Country	East Germany
Type	parliamentary
Previous election	1986 East German general election
Previous year	1986
Next election	1994 German federal election
Next year	1994
Seats for election	All 400 seats in the Volkskammer
Majority seats	201
Election date	18 March 1990
Turnout	93.4%
Leader1	Lothar de Maizière
Party1	CDU
Alliance1	Alliance for Germany
Seats1	192
Popular vote1	4,710,598
Percentage1	48.0%
Leader2	Wolfgang Thierse
Party2	SPD
Seats2	88
Popular vote2	2,525,534
Percentage2	21.9%
Leader3	Gregor Gysi
Party3	PDS
Seats3	66
Popular vote3	1,892,381
Percentage3	16.4%
Title	Prime Minister
Before election	Hans Modrow
Before party	PDS
After election	Lothar de Maizière
After party	CDU

1990 East German general election was the first and only free parliamentary election held in the German Democratic Republic. Conducted on 18 March 1990, it marked a decisive step toward German reunification following the Peaceful Revolution and the fall of the Berlin Wall. The vote resulted in a decisive victory for the conservative Alliance for Germany, a coalition led by the CDU, which campaigned on a platform of rapid reunification with the Federal Republic of Germany.

Background

The election was a direct consequence of the political upheaval that swept through Eastern Bloc nations in 1989. In the German Democratic Republic, mass protests during the Peaceful Revolution led by groups like New Forum forced the ruling Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) to relinquish its monopoly on power. The fall of the Berlin Wall on 9 November 1989 dramatically accelerated the crisis, leading to the collapse of the Honecker government. A transitional government under Hans Modrow of the reformed PDS was formed, which scheduled free elections. The Two Plus Four Agreement negotiations on the international status of a reunified Germany were already being planned, placing immense pressure on the election's outcome.

Electoral system

The election was conducted under a system of proportional representation to fill the 400 seats of the Volkskammer, the national legislature. The entire country functioned as a single electoral district, with a 5% threshold required for a party to gain representation. This system was a radical departure from the previous single-party state elections and was designed to ensure a broad and fair representation of the new political landscape. The electoral law was drafted with significant influence from West German political experts and institutions like the Bundestag.

Parties and candidates

The political field was fragmented but coalesced into several major blocs. The dominant force was the Alliance for Germany, a coalition assembled with support from West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl and his CDU. It comprised the East German CDU led by Lothar de Maizière, the Democratic Awakening associated with figures like Wolfgang Schnur, and the German Social Union. Their main rival was the Social Democratic Party in the GDR (SPD), led by Wolfgang Thierse, which initially favored a slower path to reunification. The former state party, now the PDS under Gregor Gysi, sought to reform socialism. Other significant contenders included Alliance 90 (a merger of civic movements like New Forum and Democracy Now), and the Liberal Democratic Party of Germany (LDPD).

Campaign

The campaign was intensely focused on the speed and terms of German reunification. The Alliance for Germany, heavily supported by West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl and his CDU, promised rapid reunification and the adoption of the West German Deutsche Mark. Kohl personally campaigned in cities like Leipzig and Dresden, making grand promises of economic prosperity. The SPD, initially skeptical of swift unification, struggled against this popular message. The PDS campaigned on preserving social welfare elements of the GDR, while groups like Alliance 90 emphasized democratic renewal over immediate merger. West German media, parties, and finances played an overwhelming role in the process.

Results

Voter turnout was a very high 93.4%. The Alliance for Germany won a commanding plurality with 48.0% of the vote, translating to 192 seats. The East German CDU was the largest single party within the alliance. The SPD finished a distant second with 21.9% and 88 seats, a major disappointment. The PDS secured 16.4% and 66 seats, demonstrating a resilient base. Alliance 90 won 2.9% and 12 seats, while the Liberal Democratic Party of Germany (LDPD) and others shared the remainder. The result was a clear mandate for quick unification under Article 23 of the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany.

Aftermath

The new Volkskammer elected Lothar de Maizière as Prime Minister, who formed a grand coalition with the SPD and the Liberal Democratic Party of Germany. This government's sole purpose was to negotiate the dissolution of the GDR. It passed key legislation like the State Treaty establishing a currency, economic, and social union with the Federal Republic of Germany, which introduced the Deutsche Mark on 1 July 1990. The government then negotiated the Unification Treaty, finalized the Two Plus Four Agreement with the United States, Soviet Union, United Kingdom, and France, and voted for accession under Article 23 of the Basic Law. The German Democratic Republic officially ceased to exist on 3 October 1990, with its states joining the Federal Republic of Germany and its parliament dissolving. The first all-German election, the 1990 German federal election, was held in December.

Category:1990 elections in Germany Category:1990 in East Germany Category:Elections in East Germany