1871 German federal election

German federal election, 1871

3 March 1871 (1871-03-03)
All 382 seats in the Reichstag 192 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	52.0%
First party Second party Third party   Leader Rudolf von Bennigsen Party NlP Centre DKP Leader since 1867 Seats won 125 63 57 Popular vote 1,171,000 724,000 549,000 Percentage 30.1% 18.6% 14.1%   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Party DFP DRP LRP Seats won 46 37 30 Popular vote 342,000 346,000 281,000 Percentage 8.8% 8.9% 7.2%
Composition of the Reichstag after the 1871 election.

The first Federal elections were held in Germany on 3 March 1871. The National Liberal Party emerged as the largest party in the Reichstag, with 125 of the 382 seats. Voter turnout was just 52.0%.

Results

Party	Votes	%	Seats
National Liberal Party	1,171,000	30.1	125
Centre Party	724,000	18.6	63
German Conservative Party	549,000	14.1	57
German Reich Party	346,000	8.9	37
German Progress Party	342,000	8.8	46
Imperial Liberal Party	281,000	7.2	30
Polish Party	176,000	4.6	13
Social Democratic Party	124,000	3.2	2
German-Hanoverian Party	52,000	1.4	6
Danish Party	25,000	0.7	1
German People's Party	19,000	0.5	1
Others	79,000	2.0	1
Invalid/blank votes	275,500	–	–
Total	4,163,500	100	382
Registered voters/turnout	7,656,200	52.0	–
Source: Nohlen & Stöver, DGDB

Popular Vote NLP   30.30% Zentrum   18.09% KP   14.16% DFP   8.99% DRP   8.93% LRP   6.97% PP   4.34% ADAV   1.48% SDAP   1.22% Other   5.52%

Reichstag seats NLP   32.72% Zentrum   16.49% KP   14.92% DFP   12.04% DRP   9.69% LRP   7.85% PP   3.40% SDAP   0.52% Other   2.36%