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Why did the Nazis fail to win an outright majority in the March 1933 Reichstag election?

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Birth of the Weimar Republic — Weimar Republic Learn about Germany's fledgling Weimar Republic and the challenges it faced.

In the March 5, 1933, Reichstag election, the Nazi Party failed to secure an outright majority, capturing 288 of 647 seats. Despite the atmosphere of fear and insecurity following the Reichstag fire—which the Nazi government used to suspend constitutional guarantees and suppress political opponents—other parties, specifically the Centre Party and the Social Democrats, maintained their electoral support.1

Because the Nazis did not achieve an absolute majority on their own, Adolf Hitler relied on a coalition with his Nationalist partners to obtain a working majority in the Reichstag. This coalition was essential for Hitler to eventually secure the passage of the Enabling Act on March 23, 1933, which transferred legislative powers to the Reich Cabinet and effectively established his dictatorship.12