1998 Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state election

Last updated
1998 Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state election
Flag of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.svg
  1994 27 September 1998 2002  

All 71 seats in the Landtag of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
36 seats needed for a majority
Turnout1,084,611 (79.4%)
Increase2.svg 6.5%
 First partySecond partyThird party
  Harald Ringstorff Jun07.jpg Berndt Seite (2009) by Guenter Prust.jpg Helmut Holter Linke 2.jpg
Leader Harald Ringstorff Berndt Seite Helmut Holter
Party SPD CDU PDS
Last election23 seats, 29.5%30 seats, 37.7%18 seats, 22.7%
Seats won272420
Seat changeIncrease2.svg 4Decrease2.svg 6Increase2.svg 2
Popular vote371,885327,948264,299
Percentage34.3%30.2%24.4%
SwingIncrease2.svg 4.8%Decrease2.svg 7.5%Increase2.svg 1.7%

1998 Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state election.svg
Results for the single-member constituencies

Minister-President before election

Berndt Seite
CDU

Elected Minister-President

Harald Ringstorff
SPD

The 1998 Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state election was held on 27 September 1998 to elect the members of the 3rd Landtag of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The incumbent government was a grand coalition of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Social Democratic Party (SPD) led by Minister-President Berndt Seite. The SPD overtook the CDU as the largest party and chose not to continue the grand coalition. They subsequently formed a coalition with the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS), the first of its kind in Germany on the state level, and SPD leader Harald Ringstorff was elected Minister-President.

Contents

Parties

The table below lists parties represented in the 2nd Landtag of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

NameIdeologyLeader(s)1994 result
Votes (%)Seats
CDU Christian Democratic Union of Germany
Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands
Christian democracy Berndt Seite 37.7%
30 / 71
SPD Social Democratic Party of Germany
Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands
Social democracy Harald Ringstorff 29.5%
23 / 71
PDS Party of Democratic Socialism
Partei des Demokratischen Sozialismus
Democratic socialism Helmut Holter 22.7%
18 / 71

Opinion polling

Polling firmFieldwork dateSample
size
CDU SPD PDS FDP Grüne OthersLead
1998 state election 27 Sep 199830.234.324.41.62.76.94.1
Infratest dimap 7–13 Sep 19981,0003038222358
Infratest dimap 26 Aug 1998?28412024513
Emnid 8 Aug 1998?28392024811
Infratest dimap 21 Jul 1998?26392324613
Infratest dimap 9 Feb–29 Mar 199890428431925315
1994 state election 16 Oct 199437.729.522.73.83.72.68.2

Election result

Summary of the 27 September 1998 election results for the Landtag of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
PartyVotes%+/-Seats+/-Seats %
Social Democratic Party (SPD)371,88534.3Increase2.svg4.827Increase2.svg438.0
Christian Democratic Union (CDU)327,94830.2Decrease2.svg7.524Decrease2.svg633.8
Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS)264,29924.4Increase2.svg1.720Increase2.svg228.2
German People's Union (DVU)31,1942.9Increase2.svg2.90±00
Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne)29,2402.7Decrease2.svg1.00±00
Free Democratic Party (FDP)17,0621.6Decrease2.svg2.20±00
Pro DM15,6191.4New0New0
National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD)11,5311.1Increase2.svg1.00±00
Others5,8091.50±00
Total1,084,511100.071Increase2.svg5
Voter turnout79.4Increase2.svg6.5
Popular Vote
SPD
34.29%
CDU
30.24%
PDS
24.37%
DVU
2.88%
B'90/GRÜNE
2.70%
FDP
1.57%
Other
3.96%
Landtag seats
SPD
38.03%
CDU
33.80%
PDS
28.17%

Sources