2000 North Rhine-Westphalia state election

The 2000 North Rhine-Westphalia state election was held on 14 May 2000 to elect the 13th Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia. The outgoing government was a coalition of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and The Greens led by Minister-President Wolfgang Clement.

2000 North Rhine-Westphalia state election

← 1995 14 May 2000 2005 →

All 231 seats in the Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia, including 20 overhang and leveling seats
116 seats needed for a majority
Turnout7,409,399 (56.7% Decrease 7.3pp)
  First party Second party
 
Candidate Wolfgang Clement Jürgen Rüttgers
Party SPD CDU
Last election 108 seats, 46.0% 89 seats, 37.7%
Seats won 102 88
Seat change Decrease 6 Decrease 1
Popular vote 3,143,179 2,712,176
Percentage 42.8% 37.0%
Swing Decrease 3.2pp Decrease 0.7pp

  Third party Fourth party
 
Candidate Jürgen Möllemann Bärbel Höhn
Party FDP Greens
Last election 0 seats, 4.0% 24 seats, 10.0%
Seats won 24 17
Seat change Increase 24 Decrease 7
Popular vote 721,558 518,295
Percentage 9.8% 7.1%
Swing Increase 5.8pp Decrease 2.9pp

Results for the single-member constituencies.

Government before election

First Clement cabinet
SPDGreen

Government after election

Second Clement cabinet
SPDGreen

The SPD remained the largest party but declined to 42.8%, its worst result since 1958. However, the opposition Christian Democratic Union (CDU) failed to capitalise, falling slightly to 37%. The Free Democratic Party (FDP) returned to the Landtag in third place with 10%, while the Greens took losses and recorded 7%. Overall, the incumbent government retained a reduced majority. Minister-President Clement met with FDP lead candidate Jürgen Möllemann post-election, but the SPD settled on renewing the coalition with the Greens. Clement was re-elected by the Landtag on 21 June.

Electoral system

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The 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

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In the previous election held on 14 May 1995, the SPD lost their Landtag majority for the first time since 1980. The CDU recorded another poor performance with under 38% of the vote, while the FDP fell to 4% and lost their seats. The Greens achieved a significant victory with 10% and held balance of power in the Landtag, subsequently forming a coalition government with the SPD.

In May 1998, long-serving Minister-President Johannes Rau resigned. He was succeeded by state economics minister Wolfgang Clement, who continued the coalition with the Greens.

Parties

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The table below lists parties represented in the 12th Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Name Ideology Lead
candidate
1995 result
Votes (%) Seats
SPD Social Democratic Party of Germany
Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands
Social democracy Wolfgang Clement 46.0%
108 / 221
CDU Christian Democratic Union of Germany
Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands
Christian democracy Jürgen Rüttgers 37.7%
89 / 221
GRÜNE Alliance 90/The Greens
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen
Green politics Bärbel Höhn 10.0%
24 / 221

Campaign

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Minister-President Clement stated he hoped for the SPD to regain its parliamentary majority, but that he could also accept a coalition with either the Greens or the FDP. The CDU under lead candidate Jürgen Rüttgers aimed to win government, in coalition with the FDP if necessary. The Greens campaigned for a continuation of the outgoing coalition, and capitalised on the SPD's ambivalence toward coalition partners with the slogan: "If you want red-green, you have to vote Green." The FDP ran with former Vice-Chancellor Jürgen Möllemann as their lead candidate, and sought to re-enter the Landtag and surpass the Greens for third place.

The CDU were dragged down by the ongoing donations scandal which began at the end of the previous year; their popularity in state polling fell from a high of 46% in December to just 32% in March.

Opinion polling

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Polling firm Fieldwork date Sample
size
SPD CDU Grüne FDP Others Lead
2000 state election 14 May 2000 42.8 37.0 7.1 9.8 3.3 5.8
Infratest dimap 8 May 2000 ? 45 38 7 7 3 7
Infratest dimap 5 May 2000 ? 45 39 6 6 4 6
Emnid 26 Apr 2000 ? 41 40 7 7 5 1
Forsa 19 Apr 2000 ? 46 38 6 6 4 8
Infratest dimap 12 Apr 2000 ? 46 33 7 8 6 13
Forschungsgruppe Wahlen 3–6 Apr 2000 1,004 46 38 6 6 4 8
Infratest dimap 5 Mar 2000 ? 47 32 7 9 5 15
Infratest dimap 16 Jan 2000 ? 45 37 7 6 5 8
Forsa 9 Dec 1999 ? 39 46 7 4 4 7
Emnid 6 Sep 1999 ? 42 43 6 4 5 1
Forsa 3 Jun 1999 ? 44 41 6 4 5 3
Psephos 23 Mar 1999 ? 44 40 8 5 3 4
Psephos 3 Sep 1998 ? 51 34 8 4 3 17
Psephos 28 May 1998 ? 50 33 9 4 4 17
1995 state election 14 May 1995 46.0 37.7 10.0 4.0 2.3 8.3

Results

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102
17
24
88
PartyVotes%+/–Seats
Con.ListTotal+/–
Social Democratic Party (SPD)3,143,17942.84–3.181020102–6
Christian Democratic Union (CDU)2,712,17636.97–0.70493988–1
Free Democratic Party (FDP)721,5589.84+5.8302424+24
Alliance 90/The Greens (GRÜNE)518,2957.06–2.9601717–7
The Republicans (REP)83,2961.14+0.35000±0
Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS)79,9341.09New000New
Independent Candidates for Direct Democracy (Unabh. Bürger)22,0590.30New000New
Pensioners' Party (Rentner)10,7080.15New000New
Marxist–Leninist Party of Germany (MLPD)5,9690.08New000New
The Middle-class Party (DMP)5,7430.08New000New
Party of Bible-abiding Christians (PBC)4,1230.06–0.01000±0
Natural Law Party (Naturgesetz)3,4740.05–0.11000±0
Family Party of Germany (FAMILIE)3,4200.05+0.05000±0
Human Environment Animal Protection Party (Tierschutzpartei)3,0750.04–0.08000±0
Civil Rights Movement Solidarity (BüSo)2,5300.03+0.02000±0
National Democratic Party (NPD)2,3570.03New000New
Ecological Democratic Party (ÖDP)1,9230.03–0.23000±0
German Communist Party (DKP)1,7220.02–0.05000±0
Feminist Party The Women (FRAUEN)1,5410.02New000New
PETO – The Young Alternative (PETO)9930.01New000New
From now... Alliance for Germany (Deutschland)5250.01New000New
Humanist Party (HP)4050.01+0.01000±0
Ecological Left (ÖkoLinX)3040.00New000New
League for All-Germany (BGD)1780.00New000New
Party for Non-voters (Nichtwähler)1750.00New000New
Consciousness (Bewusstsein)1620.00±0.00000±0
Independent Workers' Party (UAP)1520.00±0.00000±0
Christian Centre (CM)1040.00–0.01000±0
Independents6,3440.09+0.0700±0
Total7,336,424100.0015180231+10
Valid votes7,336,42499.01
Invalid/blank votes72,9880.99
Total votes7,409,412100.00
Registered voters/turnout13,061,26556.73
Source: [1] [2]
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  • "Electoral system of North Rhine-Westphalia". Wahlrecht.de (in German). 15 May 2022. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
  • "NRW election 2000". Der Spiegel (in German). Retrieved 20 February 2023.

References

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