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1961 West German federal election
← 1957
17 September 1961 (1961-09-17)
1965 →
← outgoing members
elected members →
All 499 seats in the Bundestag[a] 250 seats needed for a majority
Registered
37,440,715 ( 5.8%)
Turnout
87.7% ( 0.1pp)
First party
Second party
Third party
Candidate
Konrad Adenauer
Willy Brandt
Erich Mende
Party
CDU/CSU
SPD
FDP
Last election
50.2%, 270 seats
31.8%, 169 seats
7.7%, 41 seats
Seats won
242[b]
190[c]
67
Seat change
28
21
26
Popular vote
14,298,372
11,427,355
4,028,766
Percentage
45.3%
36.2%
12.8%
Swing
4.9pp
4.4pp
5.1pp
Results by constituency (left) and seats by state (right). The pie chart over West Berlin shows the composition of its legislature.
Government before election
Third Adenauer cabinet
CDU/CSU
Government after election
Fourth Adenauer cabinet
CDU/CSU–FDP
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Federal elections were held in West Germany on 17 September 1961 to elect the members of the fourth Bundestag. The CDU/CSU remained the largest faction, winning 242 of the 499 seats. However, the loss of its majority and the All-German Party losing all its seats led to the CDU having to negotiate a coalition with the long-term junior coalition partner, the Free Democratic Party, leading to a demand for long-term chancellor Konrad Adenauer to leave office in 1963, halfway through his term.
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5.8%)
0.1pp)
