The SPD remained the largest party but lost its majority for the first time since 1980, declining to 46%. The opposition Christian Democratic Union (CDU) made small gains and took 37.7% of the vote. The Greens achieved a significant victory, doubling their vote share to 10% and winning 24 seats. Since the Free Democratic Party (FDP) fell below the 5% electoral threshold and lost representation, the Greens alone held the balance of power. They subsequently formed a coalition with the SPD.
In the previous election held on 13 May 1990, the SPD retained a reduced majority with just under 50% of the vote. The CDU failed to recoup their losses from the previous election and took 37%, while the FDP remained steady on 6% and the Greens narrowly surpassed 5% and won seats for the first time. The SPD won 121 of the 151 constituencies, necessitating the addition of leveling seats which boosted the Landtag to a record size of 237 members (later 239 after an election review). The SPD once again formed government alone and Johannes Rau continued as Minister-President.
PartiesEdit
The table below lists parties represented in the 11th Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia.
The election followed the October 1994 federal election and March 1995 Hessian state election, both of which had seen victories for the incumbent government and significant gains for the Greens. In Hesse, the SPD suffered its worst result since 1946.
The CDU held a membership ballot to select their lead candidate. With 59.6% of votes, Landtag faction leader Helmut Linssen prevailed against MdB and state secretary Norbert Lammert.
Beside the influence of federal politics, where popular support for the Kohl government was declining due to growing economic difficulties, environmental issues dominated the campaign. Garzweiler II, a proposed lignite-mining project, was particularly contentious: the project, which would have involved forced resettlement of local residents, was generally supported by the SPD and firmly rejected by the Greens. The CDU opposition focused on topics such as education, domestic security and crime, and support for local industries, though their positions were not markedly different from those of the SPD. As such, most controversy during the campaign was between the SPD and the Greens.
1995, north, rhine, westphalia, state, election, held, 1995, elect, 12th, landtag, north, rhine, westphalia, outgoing, government, majority, social, democratic, party, minister, president, johannes, 1990, 1995, 2000, seats, landtag, north, rhine, westphalia, i. The 1995 North Rhine Westphalia state election was held on 14 May 1995 to elect the 12th Landtag of North Rhine Westphalia The outgoing government was a majority of the Social Democratic Party SPD led by Minister President Johannes Rau 1995 North Rhine Westphalia state election 1990 14 May 1995 2000 All 221 seats in the Landtag of North Rhine Westphalia including 20 overhang and leveling seats111 seats needed for a majorityTurnout8 353 056 64 0 7 7pp First party Second party Candidate Johannes Rau Helmut LinssenParty SPD CDULast election 122 seats 50 0 89 seats 36 7 Seats won 108 89Seat change 14 0Popular vote 3 816 639 3 124 758Percentage 46 0 37 7 Swing 4 0pp 1 0pp Third party Fourth party Candidate Barbel Hohn Achim RohdeParty Greens FDPLast election 12 seats 5 0 14 seats 6 0 Seats won 24 0Seat change 12 14Popular vote 830 861 332 634Percentage 10 0 4 0 Swing 5 0pp 1 8ppResults for the single member constituencies Government before electionFourth Rau cabinetSPD Government after election Fifth Rau cabinetSPD GreenThe SPD remained the largest party but lost its majority for the first time since 1980 declining to 46 The opposition Christian Democratic Union CDU made small gains and took 37 7 of the vote The Greens achieved a significant victory doubling their vote share to 10 and winning 24 seats Since the Free Democratic Party FDP fell below the 5 electoral threshold and lost representation the Greens alone held the balance of power They subsequently formed a coalition with the SPD Contents 1 Electoral system 2 Background 3 Parties 4 Campaign 5 Results 6 External links 7 ReferencesElectoral system EditThe Landtag was elected via mixed member proportional representation 151 members were elected in single member constituencies via first past the post voting and fifty then allocated using compensatory proportional representation A single ballot was used for both The minimum size of the Landtag was 201 members but if overhang seats were present proportional leveling seats were added to ensure proportionality An electoral threshold of 5 of valid votes is applied to the Landtag parties that fall below this threshold are ineligible to receive seats Background EditMain article 1990 North Rhine Westphalia state election In the previous election held on 13 May 1990 the SPD retained a reduced majority with just under 50 of the vote The CDU failed to recoup their losses from the previous election and took 37 while the FDP remained steady on 6 and the Greens narrowly surpassed 5 and won seats for the first time The SPD won 121 of the 151 constituencies necessitating the addition of leveling seats which boosted the Landtag to a record size of 237 members later 239 after an election review The SPD once again formed government alone and Johannes Rau continued as Minister President Parties EditThe table below lists parties represented in the 11th Landtag of North Rhine Westphalia Name Ideology Leadcandidate 1990 resultVotes SeatsSPD Social Democratic Party of GermanySozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands Social democracy Johannes Rau 50 0 122 237CDU Christian Democratic Union of GermanyChristlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands Christian democracy Helmut Linssen 36 7 89 237FDP Free Democratic PartyFreie Demokratische Partei Classical liberalism Achim Rohde 5 8 14 237GRUNE Alliance 90 The GreensBundnis 90 Die Grunen Green politics Barbel Hohn 5 0 12 237Campaign EditThe election followed the October 1994 federal election and March 1995 Hessian state election both of which had seen victories for the incumbent government and significant gains for the Greens In Hesse the SPD suffered its worst result since 1946 The CDU held a membership ballot to select their lead candidate With 59 6 of votes Landtag faction leader Helmut Linssen prevailed against MdB and state secretary Norbert Lammert Beside the influence of federal politics where popular support for the Kohl government was declining due to growing economic difficulties environmental issues dominated the campaign Garzweiler II a proposed lignite mining project was particularly contentious the project which would have involved forced resettlement of local residents was generally supported by the SPD and firmly rejected by the Greens The CDU opposition focused on topics such as education domestic security and crime and support for local industries though their positions were not markedly different from those of the SPD As such most controversy during the campaign was between the SPD and the Greens Results Edit2410889PartyVotes SeatsCon ListTotal Social Democratic Party SPD 3 816 63946 02 3 961080108 14Christian Democratic Union CDU 3 124 75837 67 0 97434689 0Alliance 90 The Greens GRUNE 830 86110 02 4 9702424 12Free Democratic Party FDP 332 6344 01 1 75000 14The Republicans REP 65 5090 79 1 06000 0The Grays Gray Panthers GRAUE 58 1550 70New000NewEcological Democratic Party ODP 21 1590 26 0 24000 0Natural Law Party Naturgesetz 12 9480 16New000NewHuman Environment Animal Protection Tierschutzpartei 9 9360 12New000NewGerman Communist Party DKP 6 0080 07 0 04000 0Party of Bible abiding Christians PBC 5 7770 07New000NewStatt Party STATT 3 0340 04New000NewRhineland Party The European Federalists RP 2 7570 03New000NewCivil Rights Movement Solidarity BuSo 8500 01New000NewChristian Centre CM 5560 01 0 00000 0Drivers and Citizens Interest Party APD 5160 01New000NewFamily Party of Germany FAMILIE 2730 00 0 00000 0Independent Workers Party UAP 1520 00New000NewConsciousness Bewusstsein 1030 00New000NewHumanist Party HP 400 00New000NewIndependents1 5700 02 0 030 0 0Total8 294 235100 00 15170221 16Valid votes8 294 23599 30Invalid blank votes58 8210 70Total votes8 353 056100 00Registered voters turnout13 041 96464 05Source 1 2 External links Edit Electoral system of North Rhine Westphalia Wahlrecht de in German 15 May 2022 Retrieved 19 February 2023 The parties after the elections at a loss PDF Friedrich Ebert Foundation in German 1995 References 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