1907 German federal election

Federal elections were held in Germany on 25 January 1907.[1] Despite the Social Democratic Party (SPD) receiving a clear plurality of votes, they were hampered by the unequal constituency sizes that favoured rural seats.[2] As a result, the Centre Party remained the largest party in the Reichstag after winning 105 of the 397 seats, whilst the SPD won only 43.[3] Voter turnout was 84.7%.[4]

1907 German federal election

25 January 1907
All 397 seats in the Reichstag 199 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	84.7% 8.6 pp
Leader Franz von Ballestrem Otto Karl von Manteuffel Ernst Bassermann Party Centre KP NLP Leader since 1890 1892 1898 Last election 100 seats 54 seats 51 seats Seats won 105 60 54 Seat change 5 6 3 Popular vote 2,179,800 1,060,200 1,630,600 Percentage 19.4% 9.4% 14.5% Swing 0.4% 0.6% 0.6%   Leader Paul Singer & August Bebel Hermann Müller-Sagan Party SPD FVp DRP Leader since 18 March 1890 & 21 November 1892 1906 Last election 81 seats 21 seats 21 seats Seats won 43 28 24 Seat change 38 7 3 Popular vote 3,259,000 736,000 471,900 Percentage 29.0% 6.5% 4.2% Swing 2.7% 0.8% 0.7%
Results of the 1907 Reichstag election.
President of the Reichstag before election Franz von Ballestrem Centre Elected President of the Reichstag Udo zu Stolberg-Wernigerode Independent

This election was known as the "Hottentot Election" due to the intense debate over the ongoing suppression of the Nama people in German South West Africa.[5]

Results

Party	Votes^[a]	%	Seats	+/–
Social Democratic Party	3,259,000	29.0	43	–38
Centre Party	2,179,800	19.4	105	+5
National Liberal Party	1,630,600	14.5	54	+3
German Conservative Party	1,060,200	9.4	60	+6
Free-minded People's Party	736,000	6.5	28	+7
German Reich Party	471,900	4.2	24	+3
Polish Party	453,900	3.9	20	+4
Free-minded Union	359,300	3.2	14	+5
Anti-Semites	248,500	2.2	16	+5
German People's Party	138,600	1.2	7	+1
German Agrarian League	119,400	1.1	8	+4
Economic Union	104,600	0.9	5	New
Alsace-Lorraine Party	103,600	0.9	7	–2
German-Hanoverian Party	78,200	0.7	1	–5
Bavarian Peasants' League	75,300	0.7	1	–3
Danish Party	15,000	0.1	1	0
Others	219,100	1.9	3	0
Invalid/blank votes	50,100	–	–	–
Total	11,303,500	100	397	0
Registered voters/turnout	13,352,900	84.7	–	–
Source: Nohlen & Stöver, DGDB

^a Figures for votes are rounded.[4]

Popular Vote SPD   28.94% Zentrum   19.35% NLP   14.51% DKP   9.41% FVP   6.53% DRP   4.19% PP   4.03% FV   3.19% Anti-Semites   3.30% DtVP   1.23% Other   5.32%

Reichstag seats Zentrum   26.45% DKP   15.11% NLP   13.60% SPD   10.83% FVP   7.05% DRP   6.05% PP   5.04% Anti-Semites   4.03% FV   3.53% DtVP   1.76% Other   6.55%

References

1. Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p762 ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7
2. Nohlen & Stöver, p747
3. Nohlen & Stöver, p789
4. Nohlen & Stöver, p775
5. "Hottentot election [German Empire federal elections of 1907]". dict.cc. TU Chemnitz. Retrieved 20 August 2020.