1962 North Rhine-Westphalia state election

The 1962 North Rhine-Westphalia state election was held on 8 July 1962 to elect the 5th Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia. The outgoing government was a majority of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) led by Minister-President Franz Meyers.

1962 North Rhine-Westphalia state election

← 1958 8 July 1962 1966 →

All 200 seats in the Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia
101 seats needed for a majority
Turnout8,188,988 (73.4% Decrease 3.2pp)
  First party Second party Third party
 
Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F023752-0007, Heinz Kühn.jpg
Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F060665-0013, Köln, FDP-Parteitag, Hoppe, Weyer.jpg
Candidate Franz Meyers Heinz Kühn Willi Weyer
Party CDU SPD FDP
Last election 104 seats, 50.5% 81 seats, 39.2% 15 seats, 7.1%
Seats won 96 90 14
Seat change Decrease 8 Increase 9 Decrease 1
Popular vote 3,752,116 3,497,179 553,426
Percentage 46.4% 43.3% 6.8%
Swing Decrease 4.1pp Increase 4.1pp Decrease 0.3pp

Results for the single-member constituencies.

Government before election

First Meyers cabinet
CDU

Government after election

Second Meyers cabinet
CDUFDP

The CDU lost its majority with a decline of four percentage points to 46%, but remained the largest party by a small margin. The opposition Social Democratic Party (SPD) saw a corresponding gain of four points and won 43%. The Free Democratic Party (FDP) remained steady on 7%. The CDU subsequently formed a coalition with the FDP, and Franz Meyers continued as Minister-President.

Electoral system

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The Landtag was elected via mixed-member proportional representation and had a term of four years. 150 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. An electoral threshold of 5% of valid votes is applied to the Landtag; parties that fall below this threshold are ineligible to receive seats. Overhang seats were not compensated.

Background

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In the previous election held on 6 July 1958, the CDU won a landslide victory and took an absolute majority of both votes and seats. The SPD also achieved a swing in its favour, while the FDP and other minors parties suffered losses. The outgoing SPD-led coalition lost its majority and was replaced by a majority government of the CDU led by Franz Meyers.

Parties

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Name Ideology Lead
candidate
1958 result
Votes (%) Seats
CDU Christian Democratic Union of Germany
Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands
Christian democracy Franz Meyers 50.5%
104 / 200
SPD Social Democratic Party of Germany
Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands
Social democracy Heinz Kühn 39.2%
81 / 200
FDP Free Democratic Party
Freie Demokratische Partei
Classical liberalism Willi Weyer 7.1%
15 / 200

Results

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90
14
96
PartyVotes%+/–Seats
Con.ListTotal+/–
Christian Democratic Union (CDU)3,752,11646.42–4.05762096–8
Social Democratic Party (SPD)3,497,17943.27+4.07741690+9
Free Democratic Party (FDP)553,4266.85–0.2701414–1
German Peace Union (DFU)164,3332.03New000New
Centre Party (ZENTRUM)75,2910.93–0.12000±0
All-German Party (GDP)34,5260.43New000New
German Community (DG)4,9170.06+0.06000±0
Independent Workers' Party (UAP)4260.01New000New
Independents3530.00±0.0000±0
Total8,082,567100.0015050200±0
Valid votes8,082,56798.70
Invalid/blank votes106,4211.30
Total votes8,188,988100.00
Registered voters/turnout11,156,28573.40
Source: [1] [2]
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  • "Electoral system of North Rhine-Westphalia". Wahlrecht.de (in German). 15 May 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2023.

References

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