Austrian legislative election, 1945

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The elections to the Austrian National Council held in fall of 1945 were the first after World War II. The elections were held according to the Austrian election law of 1929, with all citizens at least 21 years old eligible to vote,^[1] however former Nazis were banned from voting, official sources putting their numbers at around 200,000.^[2] The Communist Party of Austria only gained four seats, which some blamed on the conduct of the Red Army in the Soviet occupied zone of Austria.^[3] This was highly embarrassing for the Communists, who had assured the Soviets that they could win as much as 30 percent of the vote. This proved to be the beginning of a long decline for the Communists, though they would manage to stay in the chamber until May 1959.

The Austrian People's Party led by Leopold Figl (1902–1965) won a sweeping victory, taking just under half of the vote and an absolute majority of seats in the National Council. Despite winning a majority, Figl opted to continue the three-party grand coalition with the Socialists and Communists. However, the Communists, who had been equally represented in the Renner government since the end of the war, only received one Cabinet post.^[4] On 20 December 1945 the Federal Assembly of Austria unanimously elected incumbent Chancellor Karl Renner of the Socialist Party as President of Austria, who swore in Leopold Figl as new Chancellor on the same day.^[5][6]

Results

References

Elections and referendums in Austria As Cisleithania (1848–1918) Imperial Council elections 1848 1867 1871–72 1873 1879 1885 1891 1897 1900–01 1907 1911 Republic of Austria (1918–present) Parliamentary elections 1919 1920 1923 1927 1930 1945 1949 1953 1956 1959 1962 1966 1970 1971 1975 1979 1983 1986 1990 1994 1995 1999 2002 2006 2008 2013 next Presidential elections 1951 1957 1963 1965 1971 1974 1980 1986 1992 1998 2004 2010 2016 European elections 1996 1999 2004 2009 2014 Referendums 1938 1978 1994 2013