1881 German federal election

German federal election, 1881

27 October 1881 (1881-10-27)
All 397 seats in the Reichstag 199 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	56.3%
First party Second party Third party   Leader Ludwig Windthorst Eugen Richter Otto von Helldorff Party Centre DFP DKP Leader since 26 May 1874 7 June 1876 Last election 94 seats 26 seats 59 seats Seats won 100 60 50 Seat change 6 34 9 Popular vote 1,182,900 649,300 830,800 Percentage 23.2% 12.7% 16.3% Swing 0.1% 6.0% 3.3%   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Rudolf von Bennigsen Eduard Lasker Party NlP LV DRP Leader since 1867 1877 Last election 99 seats 10 seats 57 seats Seats won 47 46 28 Seat change 52 36 29 Popular vote 746,600 429,200 379,300 Percentage 14.6% 8.4% 7.4% Swing 8.5% 5.7% 6.2%
German Reichstag 1881
President of the Reichstag before election Gustav von Goßler DKP Elected President of the Reichstag Albert von Levetzow DKP

Federal elections were held in Germany on 27 October 1881. The Centre Party became the largest party in the Reichstag, with 100 of the 397 seats, whilst the National Liberal Party, which had previously been the largest party, was reduced to 47 seats. Voter turnout was 56.3%.

Results

Party	Votes[a]	%	Seats	+/–
Centre Party	1,182,900	23.2	100	+6
German Conservative Party	830,800	16.3	50	−9
National Liberal Party	746,600	14.6	47	−52
German Progress Party	649,300	12.7	60	+34
Liberal Union	429,200	8.4	46	+36
German Reich Party	379,300	7.4	28	−29
Social Democratic Party	312,000	6.1	12	+3
Polish Party	194,900	3.8	18	+4
Alsace-Lorraine Party	153,000	3.0	15	0
German People's Party	103,400	2.0	9	+6
German-Hanoverian Party	86,700	1.7	10	0
Danish Party	14,000	0.3	2	+1
Others	15,300	0.3	0	0
Invalid/blank votes	20,600	–	–	–
Total	5,118,400	100	397	0
Registered voters/turnout	9,088,800	56.3	–	–
Source: Nohlen & Stöver, DGDB

^a Figures for votes are rounded.

Popular Vote Zentrum   23.20% DKP   16.30% DFP   12.74% NLP   12.61% LV   8.10% DRP   7.44% SAP   6.12% PP   3.82% Other   9.68%

Reichstag seats Zentrum   25.19% DFP   15.11% DKP   12.59% NLP   11.84% LV   11.59% DRP   7.05% PP   4.53% SAP   3.02% Other   9.32%