The Weimar Republic was the new system of democratic government established in Germany following the collapse of the Second Reich .
The first elections for the new Republic were held on the 19 January 1919. They used a voting system called Proportional Representation .
The Social Democratic Party won 38% of the vote and 163 seats, the Catholic Centre Party won 20% of the vote and 91 seats and the Democratic Party won 19% of the vote and 75 seats. The rest of the seats were divided up between the smaller parties.
Whilst the Social Democratic Party had won the most votes, they did not win a majority (over 50%).