Editorial Note
The two-year term of the Berlin City Assembly elected in 1948 expired at the end of 1950, and new elections were scheduled for December 3. On election day 90.4% of the eligible voters went to the polls, a higher percentage than had participated in the 1948 elections at the height of the Berlin blockade. The SPD received 44.6% (61 seats), the CDU 24.6% (34 seats), the LDP/FDP 23.1% (32 seats) and five other parties a total of 7.7%, but none of these 5 gained the 5% necessary for representation in the Assembly. Under the new constitution, approved by the High Commission during the summer, the legislature comprised 200 seats, 73 of which were left vacant for eventual representation from the Soviet sector. Following the elections the three parties began negotiations that culminated in continuation of the ruling grand coalition for the city.