1972 West German federal election

1972 West German federal election

← 1969 19 November 1972 (1972-11-19) 1976 →
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All 496 seats in the Bundestag[a] 249 seats needed for a majority
Registered	41,446,302 7.2%
Turnout	37,761,589 (91.1%) 4.4pp
First party Second party Third party   Leader Willy Brandt Rainer Barzel Walter Scheel Party SPD CDU/CSU FDP Last election 42.7%, 224 seats 46.1%, 242 seats 5.8%, 30 seats Seats won 230[b] 225[c] 41[d] Seat change 6 17 11 Popular vote 17,175,169 16,806,020 3,129,982 Percentage 45.8% 44.9% 8.4% Swing 3.1pp 1.2pp 2.6pp
Results by constituency. Gray denotes seats won by the CDU/CSU, and red denotes those won by the SPD.
Government before election First Brandt cabinet SPD–FDP Government after election Second Brandt cabinet SPD–FDP

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Federal elections were held in West Germany on 19 November 1972 to elect the members of the 7th Bundestag. In the first snap elections since the resumption of democratic elections in 1949, the Social Democratic Party became the largest party in parliament for the first time since 1930, winning 230 of the 496 seats. The coalition with the Free Democratic Party was resumed.
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