1976 German Federal Election

3 October 1976 · The Bonn Republic · 496 seats, 249 for a majority

The coalition of the SPD and the FDP wanted to be re-elected, with the SPD, since 1974 led by Helmut Schmidt, the party's candidate for Chancellor. The CDU and the CSU tried to achieve an absolute majority of the votes to make CDU chairman Helmut Kohl Chancellor, but they fell six seats short of their target.