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2013 Lower Saxony state election

{{Short description|State election in Lower Saxony, Germany}}

{{Expand German|topic=gov|Landtagswahl in Niedersachsen 2013|date=May 2012}}

{{Infobox election

| election_name = 2013 Lower Saxony state election

| country = Lower Saxony

| type = parliamentary

| ongoing = no

| previous_election = 2008 Lower Saxony state election

| previous_year = 2008

| next_election = 2017 Lower Saxony state election

| next_year = 2017

| seats_for_election = All 137 seats in the Landtag of Lower Saxony

| majority_seats = 69

| election_date = 20 January 2013

| turnout = 3,574,900 (59.4%)
{{increase}} 2.4%

| image1 = 150x150px

| leader1 = David McAllister

| party1 = Christian Democratic Union of Germany

| last_election1 = 68 seats, 42.5%

| seats1 = 54

| seat_change1 = {{decrease}} 14

| popular_vote1 = 1,287,549

| percentage1 = 36.0%

| swing1 = {{decrease}} 6.5%

| image2 = 150x150px

| leader2 = Stephan Weil

| party2 = Social Democratic Party of Germany

| last_election2 = 48 seats, 30.3%

| seats2 = 49

| seat_change2 = {{increase}} 1

| popular_vote2 = 1,165,538

| percentage2 = 32.6%

| swing2 = {{increase}} 2.3%

| image3 = 75x75px
75x75px

| leader3 = Anja Piel &
Stefan Wenzel

| party3 = Alliance 90/The Greens

| last_election3 = {{nowrap|12 seats, 8.0%}}

| seats3 = 20

| seat_change3 = {{increase}} 8

| popular_vote3 = 489,473

| percentage3 = 13.7%

| swing3 = {{increase}} 5.7%

| image4 = 150x150px

| leader4 = Stefan Birkner

| party4 = Free Democratic Party (Germany)

| last_election4 = 13 seats, 8.2%

| seats4 = 14

| seat_change4 = {{increase}} 1

| popular_vote4 = 354,970

| percentage4 = 9.9%

| swing4 = {{increase}} 1.7%

| image5 = 150x150px

| leader5 = Manfred Sohn

| party5 = The Left (Germany)

| last_election5 = 11 seats, 7.1%

| seats5 = 0

| seat_change5 = {{decrease}} 11

| popular_vote5 = 112,212

| percentage5 = 3.1%

| swing5 = {{decrease}} 4.0%

| map_image = 2013 Lower Saxony state election.svg

| map_size = 400px

| map_caption = Results for the single-member constituencies

| title = Minister-President

| before_election = David McAllister

| before_party = Christian Democratic Union of Germany

| after_election = Stephan Weil

| after_party = Social Democratic Party of Germany

}}

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.{{Cite news |title=The vincible chancellor |work=The Economist |url=https://www.economist.com/europe/2013/01/26/the-vincible-chancellor |access-date=2022-10-13 |issn=0013-0613}}

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.

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.

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.{{Cite web|url=http://www.wahlrecht.de/landtage/niedersachsen.htm|title = Wahlsystem der Landtagswahl in Niedersachsen (#LTWNDS)}}

Parties

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

class="wikitable"

! rowspan=2 colspan=3| Name

! rowspan=2| Ideology

! rowspan=2| Leader(s)

! colspan=2| 2008 result

Votes (%)

! Seats

bgcolor={{party color|Christian Democratic Union of Germany}} |

| align=center| CDU

| Christian Democratic Union of Germany
{{small|Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands}}

| Christian democracy

| David McAllister

| align=center| 42.5%

| {{Composition bar|68|152|{{party color|Christian Democratic Union of Germany}}}}

bgcolor={{party color|Social Democratic Party of Germany}} |

| align=center| SPD

| Social Democratic Party of Germany
{{small|Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands}}

| Social democracy

| Stephan Weil

| align=center| 30.3%

| {{Composition bar|48|152|{{party color|Social Democratic Party of Germany}}}}

bgcolor={{party color|Free Democratic Party (Germany)}} |

| align=center| FDP

| Free Democratic Party
{{small|Freie Demokratische Partei}}

| Classical liberalism

| Stefan Birkner

| align=center| 8.2%

| {{Composition bar|13|152|{{party color|Free Democratic Party (Germany)}}}}

bgcolor={{party color|Alliance 90/The Greens}} |

| align=center| Grüne

| Alliance 90/The Greens
{{small|Bündnis 90/Die Grünen}}

| Green politics

| Anja Piel
Stefan Wenzel

| align=center| 8.0%

| {{Composition bar|12|152|{{party color|Alliance 90/The Greens}}}}

bgcolor={{party color|The Left (Germany)}} |

| align=center| Linke

| The Left
{{small|Die Linke}}

| Democratic socialism

| Manfred Sohn

| align=center| 7.1%

| {{Composition bar|11|152|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}

Opinion polling

class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;font-size:90%;line-height:14px;"
style="height:40px;"

! style="width:160px;" rowspan="2"| Polling firm

! style="width:130px;" rowspan="2"| Fieldwork date

! style="width:35px;" rowspan="2"| Sample
size

! class="unsortable" style="width:40px;"| CDU

! class="unsortable" style="width:40px;"| SPD

! class="unsortable" style="width:40px;"| FDP

! class="unsortable" style="width:40px;"| Grüne

! class="unsortable" style="width:40px;"| Linke

! class="unsortable" style="width:40px;"| Piraten

! class="unsortable" style="width:40px;" rowspan="2"| Others

! style="width:30px;" rowspan="2"| Lead

style="background:{{party color|Christian Democratic Union of Germany}};"|

! style="background:{{party color|Social Democratic Party of Germany}};"|

! style="background:{{party color|Free Democratic Party (Germany)}};"|

! style="background:{{party color|Alliance 90/The Greens}};"|

! style="background:{{party color|The Left (Germany)}};"|

! style="background:{{party color|Pirate Party Germany}};"|

style="background:#E9E9E9;"

| [http://www.wahlrecht.de/news/2013/landtagswahl-niedersachsen-2013.html#absolut 2013 state election]

| data-sort-value="2013-01-20"| 20 Jan 2013

| –

| style="background:#D7D5D7;"| 36.0

| 32.6

| 9.9

| 13.7

| 3.1

| 2.1

| 2.5

| style="background:{{party color|Christian Democratic Union of Germany}};color:#FFFFFF;"| 3.4

[http://www.wahlrecht.de/umfragen/landtage/niedersachsen.htm GMS]

| data-sort-value="2013-01-17"| 14–16 Jan 2013

| 1,006

| style="background:#D7D5D7;"| 41

| 33

| 5

| 13

| 3

| 3

| 2

| style="background:{{party color|Christian Democratic Union of Germany}};color:#FFFFFF;"| 8

[http://www.wahlrecht.de/umfragen/landtage/niedersachsen.htm INFO GmbH]

| data-sort-value="2013-01-12"| 2–6 Jan 2013

| 1,002

| style="background:#D7D5D7;"| 38.0

| 31.5

| 4.5

| 14.5

| 6.0

| 3.0

| 2.5

| style="background:{{party color|Christian Democratic Union of Germany}};color:#FFFFFF;"| 6.5

[http://www.wahlrecht.de/umfragen/landtage/niedersachsen.htm Infratest dimap]

| data-sort-value="2013-01-10"| 8–10 Jan 2013

| 1,001

| style="background:#D7D5D7;"| 40

| 33

| 5

| 13

| 3

| 3

| 3

| style="background:{{party color|Christian Democratic Union of Germany}};color:#FFFFFF;"| 7

[http://www.wahlrecht.de/umfragen/landtage/niedersachsen.htm GMS]

| data-sort-value="2013-01-10"| 7–9 Jan 2013

| 1,007

| style="background:#D7D5D7;"| 41

| 33

| 5

| 13

| 3

| 3

| 2

| style="background:{{party color|Christian Democratic Union of Germany}};color:#FFFFFF;"| 8

[http://www.wahlrecht.de/umfragen/landtage/niedersachsen.htm Forschungsgruppe Wahlen]

| data-sort-value="2013-01-10"| 7–9 Jan 2013

| 1,040

| style="background:#D7D5D7;"| 39

| 33

| 5

| 13

| 3

| 3

| 4

| style="background:{{party color|Christian Democratic Union of Germany}};color:#FFFFFF;"| 6

[http://www.wahlrecht.de/umfragen/landtage/niedersachsen.htm Infratest dimap]

| data-sort-value="2013-01-03"| 28 Dec 2012–2 Jan 2013

| 1,000

| style="background:#D7D5D7;"| 40

| 34

| 4

| 13

| 3

| 3

| 3

| style="background:{{party color|Christian Democratic Union of Germany}};color:#FFFFFF;"| 6

[http://www.wahlrecht.de/umfragen/landtage/niedersachsen.htm INFO GmbH]

| data-sort-value="2012-12-22"| 7–14 Dec 2012

| 1,001

| style="background:#D7D5D7;"| 38.5

| 33.0

| 3.5

| 12.5

| 4.0

| 4.5

| 4.0

| style="background:{{party color|Christian Democratic Union of Germany}};color:#FFFFFF;"| 5.5

[http://www.wahlrecht.de/umfragen/landtage/niedersachsen.htm Forschungsgruppe Wahlen]

| data-sort-value="2012-12-06"| 3–5 Dec 2012

| 1,043

| style="background:#D7D5D7;"| 39

| 32

| 4

| 13

| 4

| 4

| 4

| style="background:{{party color|Christian Democratic Union of Germany}};color:#FFFFFF;"| 7

[http://www.wahlrecht.de/umfragen/landtage/niedersachsen.htm Infratest dimap]

| data-sort-value="2012-12-06"| 30 Nov–4 Dec 2012

| 1,000

| style="background:#D7D5D7;"| 40

| 33

| 3

| 15

| 3

| 3

| 3

| style="background:{{party color|Christian Democratic Union of Germany}};color:#FFFFFF;"| 7

[http://www.wahlrecht.de/umfragen/landtage/niedersachsen.htm GMS]

| data-sort-value="2012-12-04"| 28–30 Nov 2012

| 1,006

| style="background:#D7D5D7;"| 41

| 32

| 4

| 13

| 3

| 4

| 3

| style="background:{{party color|Christian Democratic Union of Germany}};color:#FFFFFF;"| 9

[http://www.wahlrecht.de/umfragen/landtage/niedersachsen.htm Infratest dimap]

| data-sort-value="2012-11-08"| 2–6 Nov 2012

| 1,003

| style="background:#D7D5D7;"| 41

| 34

| 3

| 13

| 3

| 3

| 3

| style="background:{{party color|Christian Democratic Union of Germany}};color:#FFFFFF;"| 7

[http://www.wahlrecht.de/umfragen/landtage/niedersachsen.htm Infratest dimap]

| data-sort-value="2012-09-20"| 17–19 Sep 2012

| 1,003

| style="background:#D7D5D7;"| 37

| 33

| 3

| 15

| 4

| 4

| 4

| style="background:{{party color|Christian Democratic Union of Germany}};color:#FFFFFF;"| 4

[http://www.wahlrecht.de/umfragen/landtage/niedersachsen.htm GMS]

| data-sort-value="2012-09-20"| 10–14 Sep 2012

| 1,002

| style="background:#D7D5D7;"| 38

| 33

| 5

| 13

| 5

| 3

| 3

| style="background:{{party color|Christian Democratic Union of Germany}};color:#FFFFFF;"| 5

[http://www.wahlrecht.de/umfragen/landtage/niedersachsen.htm Forsa]

| data-sort-value="2012-07-24"| 11–20 Jul 2012

| 1,108

| style="background:#D7D5D7;"| 38

| 33

| 4

| 11

| 4

| 7

| 3

| style="background:{{party color|Christian Democratic Union of Germany}};color:#FFFFFF;"| 5

[http://www.wahlrecht.de/umfragen/landtage/niedersachsen.htm YouGov]

| data-sort-value="2012-07-19"| 5–13 Jul 2012

| 1,025

| 31

| style="background:#FFCCCC;"| 35

| 4

| 14

| 5

| 7

| 4

| style="background:{{party color|Social Democratic Party of Germany}};color:#FFFFFF;"| 4

[http://www.wahlrecht.de/umfragen/landtage/niedersachsen.htm Infratest dimap]

| data-sort-value="2012-05-16"| 14–15 May 2012

| 1,005

| 32

| style="background:#FFCCCC;"| 36

| 4

| 13

| 3

| 8

| 4

| style="background:{{party color|Social Democratic Party of Germany}};color:#FFFFFF;"| 4

[http://www.wahlrecht.de/umfragen/landtage/niedersachsen.htm GMS]

| data-sort-value="2012-05-16"| 16–19 Apr 2012

| 1,005

| style="background:#D7D5D7;"| 37

| 33

| 3

| 13

| 3

| 9

| 2

| style="background:{{party color|Christian Democratic Union of Germany}};color:#FFFFFF;"| 4

[http://www.wahlrecht.de/umfragen/landtage/niedersachsen.htm Infratest dimap]

| data-sort-value="2012-01-25"| 20–24 Jan 2012

| 1,001

| style="background:#D7D5D7;"| 36

| 32

| 3

| 17

| 5

| 4

| 3

| style="background:{{party color|Christian Democratic Union of Germany}};color:#FFFFFF;"| 4

[http://www.wahlrecht.de/umfragen/landtage/niedersachsen.htm GMS]

| data-sort-value="2012-05-16"| 10–14 Jan 2012

| 1,003

| style="background:#D7D5D7;"| 37

| 33

| 3

| 18

| 3

| 3

| 3

| style="background:{{party color|Christian Democratic Union of Germany}};color:#FFFFFF;"| 4

[http://www.wahlrecht.de/umfragen/landtage/niedersachsen.htm Infratest dimap]

| data-sort-value="2011-05-06"| 2–4 May 2011

| 1,000

| style="background:#D7D5D7;"| 34

| 31

| 5

| 22

| 5

| 1

| 2

| style="background:{{party color|Christian Democratic Union of Germany}};color:#FFFFFF;"| 3

[http://www.wahlrecht.de/umfragen/landtage/niedersachsen.htm Infratest dimap]

| data-sort-value="2010-01-15"| 7–11 Jan 2010

| 1,000

| style="background:#D7D5D7;"| 41

| 29

| 9

| 11

| 6

| –

| 4

| style="background:{{party color|Christian Democratic Union of Germany}};color:#FFFFFF;"| 12

style="background:#E9E9E9;"

| [http://www.wahlrecht.de/news/2008/ni-2008.htm 2008 state election]

| data-sort-value="2008-01-27"| 27 Jan 2008

| –

| style="background:#D7D5D7;"| 42.5

| 30.3

| 8.2

| 8.0

| 7.1

| –

| 3.9

| style="background:{{party color|Christian Democratic Union of Germany}};color:#FFFFFF;"| 12.2

Election result

{{election table|title=Summary of the 20 January 2013 election results for the Landtag of Lower Saxony}}

|-

|colspan="12"| File:landtag NI 2013.svg

|-

! colspan="2" | Party

! Votes

! %

! +/-

! Constituencies

! List seats

! Total seats

! +/-

! Total seats %

|-

| bgcolor={{party color|Christian Democratic Union of Germany}}|

| align=left | Christian Democratic Union (CDU)

| align=right| 1,287,549

| align=right| 36.0

| align=right| {{decrease}}6.5

| align=right| 54

| align=right| 0

| align=right| 54

| align=right| {{decrease}}14

| align=right| 39.4

|-

| bgcolor={{party color|Social Democratic Party of Germany}}|

| align=left | Social Democratic Party (SPD)

| align=right| 1,165,419

| align=right| 32.6

| align=right| {{increase}}2.3

| align=right| 33

| align=right| 16

| align=right| 49

| align=right| {{increase}}1

| align=right| 35.8

|-

| bgcolor={{party color|Alliance 90/The Greens}}|

| align=left | Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne)

| align=right| 489,473

| align=right| 13.7

| align=right| {{increase}}5.7

| align=right| 0

| align=right| 20

| align=right| 20

| align=right| {{increase}}8

| align=right| 14.6

|-

| bgcolor={{party color|Free Democratic Party (Germany)}}|

| align=left | Free Democratic Party (FDP)

| align=right| 354,970

| align=right| 9.9

| align=right| {{increase}}1.7

| align=right| 0

| align=right| 14

| align=right| 14

| align=right| {{increase}}1

| align=right| 10.2

|-

! colspan=8|

|-

| bgcolor={{party color|The Left (Germany)}}|

| align=left | The Left (Linke)

| align=right| 112,212

| align=right| 3.1

| align=right| {{decrease}}4.0

| align=right| 0

| align=right| 0

| align=right| 0

| align=right| {{decrease}}11

| align=right| 0

|-

| bgcolor={{party color|Pirate Party Germany}}|

| align=left | Pirate Party Germany (Piraten)

| align=right| 75,603

| align=right| 2.1

| align=right| {{increase}}2.1

| align=right| 0

| align=right| 0

| align=right| 0

| align=right| ±0

| align=right| 0

|-

| bgcolor={{party color|Free Voters}}|

| align=left | Free Voters – Wahlalternative 2013 (FW)

| align=right| 39,714

| align=right| 1.1

| align=right| {{increase}}0.6

| align=right| 0

| align=right| 0

| align=right| 0

| align=right| ±0

| align=right| 0

|-

| bgcolor={{party color|Other}}|

| align=left | Others

| align=right| 49,960

| align=right| 1.4

| align=right|

| align=right| 0

| align=right| 0

| align=right| 0

| align=right| ±0

| align=right| 0

|-

! align=right colspan=2| Total

! align=right| 3,574,900

! align=right| 100.0

! align=right|

! align=right| 87

! align=right| 50

! align=right| 137

! align=right| {{decrease}}15

! align=right|

|-

! align=right colspan=2| Voter turnout

! align=right|

! align=right| 59.4

! align=right| {{increase}}2.4

! colspan="5"|

|-

| colspan="12"| [https://landeswahlleiterin.niedersachsen.de/wahlen/landtagswahl/landtagswahl_2013/wahl-zum-niedersaechsischen-landtag-100052.html/ Lower Saxon Returning Officer]

|-

|}

{{bar box

| title=Popular Vote

| titlebar=#ddd

| width=600px

| barwidth=410px

| bars=

{{bar percent|CDU|{{party color|Christian Democratic Union of Germany}}|36.02}}

{{bar percent|SPD|{{party color|Social Democratic Party of Germany}}|32.60}}

{{bar percent|B'90/GRÜNE|{{party color|Alliance 90/The Greens}}|13.69}}

{{bar percent|FDP|{{party color|Free Democratic Party (Germany)}}|9.93}}

{{bar percent|DIE LINKE|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}|3.14}}

{{bar percent|PIRATEN|{{party color|Pirate Party Germany}}|2.11}}

{{bar percent|Other|#777777|2.51}}

}}

{{bar box

| title=Landtag seats

| titlebar=#ddd

| width=600px

| barwidth=410px

| bars=

{{bar percent|CDU|{{party color|Christian Democratic Union of Germany}}|39.42}}

{{bar percent|SPD|{{party color|Social Democratic Party of Germany}}|35.77}}

{{bar percent|B'90/GRÜNE|{{party color|Alliance 90/The Greens}}|14.60}}

{{bar percent|FDP|{{party color|Free Democratic Party (Germany)}}|10.22}}

}}

Sources

{{reflist}}

{{Lower Saxony state election}}

{{2013 elections in Germany}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lower Saxony State Election, 2013}}

Category:2013 elections in Germany

2013

Category:January 2013 in Germany