1990 Berlin state election

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1990 Berlin state election
Flag of Berlin.svg
  West (1989)
← East (1990)
2 December 1990 1995  

All 241 seats of the Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin
121 seats needed for a majority
Turnout2,019,198 (80.8%)
 First partySecond partyThird party
  KAS-Diepgen, Eberhard-Bild-4379-1.jpg Walter Momper 1990 (cropped).jpg
Leader Eberhard Diepgen Walter Momper
Party CDU SPD PDS
Seats won1017623
Popular vote815,382614,075184,820
Percentage40.4%30.4%9.2%

 Fourth partyFifth partySixth party
 
Party FDP Greens (West) Greens (East) [lower-alpha 1]
Seats won181211
Popular vote143,080100,83987,891
Percentage7.1%5.0%4.4% [lower-alpha 2]

1990 Berlin state election.svg
Results for single-member constituencies.

Mayor before election

Walter Momper (West)
Tino Schwierzina/Thomas Krüger (East)

Contents

Elected Mayor

Eberhard Diepgen
CDU

The 1990 Berlin state election was held on 2 December 1990 to elect the members of the 12th Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin. This was the first election held in Berlin after the reunification of Germany and Berlin, and was held on the same day as the 1990 federal election.

The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) emerged as the largest party with 40.4%, with the Social Democratic Party (SPD) second on 30.4%. The Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) won 9.2%, while the Free Democratic Party (FDP) won 7.1%. Two green parties, the Alternative List from the West and the Alliance 90 from the East, entered the Abgeordnetenhaus with 5.0% and 4.4% respectively. The 5% electoral threshold for entry was applied separately in the old West and East of the city, allowing both parties to enter despite both falling short of 5% statewide. They subsequently formed a joint parliamentary group, and later merged to become the Berlin branch of Alliance 90/The Greens.

A potential CDU–FDP government came up two seats short of a majority, and no left-of-centre arrangement was possible due to the presence of PDS. Thus, the CDU and SPD entered into a grand coalition, and CDU leader and former Mayor Eberhard Diepgen was elected as the first Mayor of reunified Berlin. [1]

Parties

The table below lists the parties and groupings competing in the election which were represented in the 11th Abgeordnetenhaus of West Berlin (elected in 1989) and the last city council of East Berlin (elected in May 1990). Parties are listed in order of the number of seats they held in both city legislatures.

NameIdeologyLeader(s)1989 result (West)1990 result (East)
Votes (%)SeatsVotes (%)Seats
SPD Social Democratic Party of Germany
Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands
Social democracy Walter Momper 37.3%
55 / 138
34.1% [lower-alpha 3]
47 / 138
CDU Christian Democratic Union of Germany
Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands
Christian democracy Eberhard Diepgen 37.7%
55 / 138
18.4% [lower-alpha 4]
25 / 138
PDS Party of Democratic Socialism
Partei des Demokratischen Sozialismus
Democratic socialism N/A30.1%
42 / 138
Bü90/Grüne/UFV Alliance 90/Green/UFV
Bündnis 90/Grüne/UFV
Green politics N/A12.6% [lower-alpha 5]
18 / 138
Grüne/AL Green/Alternative List
Grüne/Alternativen Liste
Green politics 11.8%
17 / 138
N/A
REP The Republicans
Die Republikaner
National conservatism 7.5%
11 / 138
N/A
FDP Free Democratic Party
Freie Demokratische Partei
Classical liberalism 3.9%
0 / 138
2.3% [lower-alpha 6]
3 / 138
DSU German Social Union
Deutsche Soziale Union
National conservatism N/A1.0%
2 / 138

Election result

Summary of the 2 December 1990 election results for the Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin
1990 Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin.svg
PartyVotes%Seats
Christian Democratic Union (CDU)815,38240.38101
Social Democratic Party (SPD)614,07530.4176
Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS)184,8209.1523
Free Democratic Party (FDP)143,0807.0918
Green/Alternative List (Grüne/AL)100,8394.9912
Alliance 90/Green/VFU (Bü90/Grüne/UFV)87,8914.3511
The Republicans (REP)62,0413.070
Ecological Democratic Party (ÖDP)5,1600.260
German Social Union (DSU)4,5390.220
League of German Democrats (DDD)1,3710.070
Total2,019,198100.00241
Popular Vote
CDU
40.38%
SPD
30.41%
PDS
9.15%
FDP
7.09%
AL
4.99%
BÜ90
4.35%
REP
3.07%
Other
0.55%
Abgeordnetenhaus seats
CDU
41.91%
SPD
31.54%
PDS
9.54%
FDP
7.47%
AL
4.98%
BÜ90
4.56%

Notes

  1. A linked list of the Alliance 90, East German Green Party, and Independent Women's Association.
  2. In the 1990 election, the 5% electoral threshold was applied separately in East Berlin and West Berlin. The Alliance 90–Eastern Greens-UFV grouping won 11.4% of votes in East Berlin.
  3. Results for the Social Democratic Party in the GDR, which merged with the Western SPD in 1990.
  4. Results for the CDU (17.7%, 24 seats) and DA (0.6%, 1 seat). The two parties merged with the Western CDU in 1990.
  5. Results for Alliance 90 (9.9%, 14 seats) and the Green Party (2.7%, 4 seats).
  6. Results for the Association of Free Democrats (1.2%, 2 seats) and FDP (1.0%, 1 seat). The two parties merged with the Western FDP in 1990.

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References

  1. "Die Landeswahlleiterin für Berlin – Historie – Vergangene Wahlen". www.wahlen-berlin.de. Archived from the original on 1 October 2018.