2013 Lower Saxony state election

Last updated
2013 Lower Saxony state election
Flag of Lower Saxony.svg
  2008 20 January 2013 2017  

All 137 seats in the Landtag of Lower Saxony
69 seats needed for a majority
Turnout3,574,900 (59.4%)
Increase2.svg 2.4%
 First partySecond partyThird party
  Landtag Niedersachsen DSCF7646 - McAllister cropped.jpg 2013-01-20-niedersachsenwahl-346.jpg Anja Piel Pressefoto.jpg
Landtag Niedersachsen DSCF7803.JPG
Leader David McAllister Stephan Weil Anja Piel &
Stefan Wenzel
Party CDU SPD Greens
Last election68 seats, 42.5%48 seats, 30.3%12 seats, 8.0%
Seats won544920
Seat changeDecrease2.svg 14Increase2.svg 1Increase2.svg 8
Popular vote1,287,5491,165,538489,473
Percentage36.0%32.6%13.7%
SwingDecrease2.svg 6.5%Increase2.svg 2.3%Increase2.svg 5.7%

 Fourth partyFifth party
  Stefan Birkner.jpg Landtag Niedersachsen DSCF7470.JPG
Leader Stefan Birkner Manfred Sohn
Party FDP Left
Last election13 seats, 8.2%11 seats, 7.1%
Seats won140
Seat changeIncrease2.svg 1Decrease2.svg 11
Popular vote354,970112,212
Percentage9.9%3.1%
SwingIncrease2.svg 1.7%Decrease2.svg 4.0%

2013 Lower Saxony state election.svg
Results for the single-member constituencies

Minister-President before election

David McAllister
CDU

Elected Minister-President

Stephan Weil
SPD

The 2013 Lower Saxony state election was held on 20 January 2013 to elect the members of the 17th Landtag of Lower Saxony. The incumbent coalition government of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Free Democratic Party (FDP) led by Minister-President David McAllister was defeated. The Social Democratic Party (SPD) formed a government with The Greens which held a slim, one-seat majority. Stephan Weil was subsequently elected Minister-President. [1]

Contents

Background

The CDU–FDP coalition had governed since the 2003. In the 2008 state election, the SPD under Wolfgang Jüttner lost more than three percentage points, suffering its worst ever result in Lower Saxony. The FDP retained their status as the third strongest party, leading the Greens by just 0.2%. The Left won 7.1 percent of the vote, crossing the electoral threshold and winning seats for the first time.

Most polls taken in early 2012 showed a SPD–Green majority. However, in the lead-up to the election, polls tightened, with the CDU–FDP coalition virtually neck and neck with the SPD–Green coalition. Polling suggested that the FDP's vote could be very close to 5%, which led some officials in the CDU to suggest tactically voting FDP to ensure it met the threshold. [1]

Before the election, the SPD and Greens announced their plan to govern and campaign together. The CDU acted independently of the FDP during the campaign, but sought to continue the incumbent coalition. If a CDU–FDP coalition could not be formed, the CDU stated that the SPD would be their second choice. However, the SPD itself rejected the idea of a grand coalition. [1]

Electoral system

The system used was Mixed-member proportional representation. The results in the electoral districts were determined using FPTP and the overall result using the D'Hondt method. [2]

Parties

The table below lists parties represented in the 16th Landtag of Lower Saxony.

NameIdeologyLeader(s)2008 result
Votes (%)Seats
CDU Christian Democratic Union of Germany
Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands
Christian democracy David McAllister 42.5%
68 / 152
SPD Social Democratic Party of Germany
Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands
Social democracy Stephan Weil 30.3%
48 / 152
FDP Free Democratic Party
Freie Demokratische Partei
Classical liberalism Stefan Birkner 8.2%
13 / 152
Grüne Alliance 90/The Greens
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen
Green politics Anja Piel
Stefan Wenzel
8.0%
12 / 152
Linke The Left
Die Linke
Democratic socialism Manfred Sohn 7.1%
11 / 152

Opinion polling

Polling firmFieldwork dateSample
size
CDU SPD FDP Grüne Linke Piraten OthersLead
2013 state election 20 Jan 201336.032.69.913.73.12.12.53.4
GMS 14–16 Jan 20131,00641335133328
INFO GmbH 2–6 Jan 20131,00238.031.54.514.56.03.02.56.5
Infratest dimap 8–10 Jan 20131,00140335133337
GMS 7–9 Jan 20131,00741335133328
Forschungsgruppe Wahlen 7–9 Jan 20131,04039335133346
Infratest dimap 28 Dec 2012–2 Jan 20131,00040344133336
INFO GmbH 7–14 Dec 20121,00138.533.03.512.54.04.54.05.5
Forschungsgruppe Wahlen 3–5 Dec 20121,04339324134447
Infratest dimap 30 Nov–4 Dec 20121,00040333153337
GMS 28–30 Nov 20121,00641324133439
Infratest dimap 2–6 Nov 20121,00341343133337
Infratest dimap 17–19 Sep 20121,00337333154444
GMS 10–14 Sep 20121,00238335135335
Forsa 11–20 Jul 20121,10838334114735
YouGov 5–13 Jul 20121,02531354145744
Infratest dimap 14–15 May 20121,00532364133844
GMS 16–19 Apr 20121,00537333133924
Infratest dimap 20–24 Jan 20121,00136323175434
GMS 10–14 Jan 20121,00337333183334
Infratest dimap 2–4 May 20111,00034315225123
Infratest dimap 7–11 Jan 20101,00041299116412
2008 state election 27 Jan 200842.530.38.28.07.13.912.2

Election result

Summary of the 20 January 2013 election results for the Landtag of Lower Saxony
Landtag NI 2013.svg
PartyVotes %+/-ConstituenciesList seatsTotal seats+/-Total seats %
Christian Democratic Union (CDU)1,287,54936.0Decrease2.svg6.554054Decrease2.svg1439.4
Social Democratic Party (SPD)1,165,41932.6Increase2.svg2.3331649Increase2.svg135.8
Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne)489,47313.7Increase2.svg5.702020Increase2.svg814.6
Free Democratic Party (FDP)354,9709.9Increase2.svg1.701414Increase2.svg110.2
The Left (Linke)112,2123.1Decrease2.svg4.0000Decrease2.svg110
Pirate Party Germany (Piraten)75,6032.1Increase2.svg2.1000±00
Free Voters (FW)39,7141.1Increase2.svg0.6000±00
Others49,9601.4000±00
Total3,574,900100.08750137Decrease2.svg15
Voter turnout59.4Increase2.svg2.4
Lower Saxon Returning Officer
Popular Vote
CDU
36.02%
SPD
32.60%
B'90/GRÜNE
13.69%
FDP
9.93%
DIE LINKE
3.14%
PIRATEN
2.11%
Other
2.51%
Landtag seats
CDU
39.42%
SPD
35.77%
B'90/GRÜNE
14.60%
FDP
10.22%

Sources

  1. 1 2 3 "The vincible chancellor". The Economist. ISSN   0013-0613 . Retrieved 2022-10-13.
  2. "Wahlsystem der Landtagswahl in Niedersachsen (#LTWNDS)".

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