E. German Coalition OKs Free Elections by May 6

East Germany’s Communist-led government coalition agreed at unprecedented talks with opposition groups today to recommend that free elections be held by May 6.

A joint declaration said the proposal will be put as soon as possible before the national parliament, which must decide on a final date.

Twenty-two delegates to the “round table” talks voted for the proposal and 11, mostly opposition groupings, abstained.

The decision, after seven hours of talks, underlined the urgency of reforms as signs of social disintegration grew throughout the country.

Earlier, the provisional leadership of the besieged Communist Party presented proposals for sweeping reform, including the holding of free elections and a multi-party system, but rejected the reunification of the two German states.

The proposals are to be discussed at an emergency party congress that has been called for Friday in an apparent attempt to halt the rapid crumbling of Communist authority.

The party congress comes amid increasing demands for drastic change and a growing outcry over abuses of power by former officials. The congress is expected to elect a new party leader to fill the vacuum created by the departure of Egon Krenz, who gave up the leadership of the state and the party. Krenz had taken over as party leader from hard-line Communist Erich Honecker on Oct. 18.

The entire leadership of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED), the Communist Party, resigned Sunday. The incident triggered a series of resignations in the party and the government that has left the country in a state of political confusion.

The caretaker party committee said in a statement today that it sought “a radical break away from the party’s basic structures, influenced by Stalinism” and “democratic renewal.”

“This means that the SED advocates a pluralistic political system,” the statement said.

The committee, composed of 25 party members known as reformists, also called for the holding of “free and secret elections at the earliest possible date, to be determined by all political forces.”

In its statement, the committee suggested all “recently established democratic political movements and forces be included in the decision-making process until the elections.”

The committee called for the active participation of church and religious communities in the “renewal of socialist society.”

It also called for wide-ranging economic change, but said it would not consider introducing “a profit-dominated capitalistic society.”