The elections set for 5 December 1948 could only take place in the western sectors. The SPD gained almost two-thirds of the votes so they were the strongest party. On 7 December the old city council met once again and elected Ernst Reuter as mayor. This choice was confirmed by the new parliament on 14 January 1949. Although the SPD lost about 20 per cent of the votes in the elections on 3 December 1950, Ernst Reuter remained in the office. The vote in parliament between Reuter and the CDU candidate Walther Schreiber had ended with a stalemate. Schreiber withdrew in favour of Reuter who took the new official title of Regierender Bürgermeister, at the head an all-party coalition with the from SPD, CDU and FDP.