1965 West German federal election

1965 West German federal election

← 1961 19 September 1965 (1965-09-19) 1969 →
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All 496 seats in the Bundestag[a] 249 seats needed for a majority
Registered	38,510,395 2.9%
Turnout	33,416,207 (86.8%) 0.9pp
First party Second party Third party   Candidate Ludwig Erhard Willy Brandt Erich Mende Party CDU/CSU SPD FDP Last election 45.3%, 242 seats 36.2%, 190 seats 12.8%, 67 seats Seats won 245[b] 202[c] 49[d] Seat change 3 12 18 Popular vote 15,524,068 12,813,186 3,096,739 Percentage 47.6% 39.3% 9.5% Swing 2.3pp 3.1pp 3.3pp
Results by constituency for the first votes. Grey denotes seats won by the CDU/CSU; red denotes seats won by the SPD.
Government before election First Erhard cabinet CDU/CSU–FDP Government after election Second Erhard cabinet CDU/CSU–FDP

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Federal elections were held in West Germany on 19 September 1965 to elect the members of the 5th Bundestag. The CDU/CSU remained the largest faction, while the Social Democratic Party remained the largest single party in the Bundestag, winning 217 of the 518 seats (including 15 of the 22 non-voting delegates for West Berlin).
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