1985 North Rhine-Westphalia state election

The 1985 North Rhine-Westphalia state election was held on 12 May 1985 to elect the 10th Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia. The outgoing government was a majority of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), led by Minister-President Johannes Rau.

1985 North Rhine-Westphalia state election

← 1980 12 May 1985 1990 →

All 227 seats in the Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia, including 26 overhang and leveling seats
114 seats needed for a majority
Turnout9,560,681 (75.2% Decrease 4.8pp)
  First party Second party Third party
 
Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F073494-0025, Bundespressekonferenz, Bundestagswahlkampf, Rau.jpg
KAS-Birkesdorf-Bild-36464-1.jpg
Achim Rohde.png
Candidate Johannes Rau Bernhard Worms Achim Rohde
Party SPD CDU FDP
Last election 106 seats, 48.4% 95 seats, 43.2% 0 seats, 4.98%
Seats won 125 88 14
Seat change Increase 19 Decrease 7 Increase 14
Popular vote 4,942,346 3,463,656 565,413
Percentage 52.1% 36.5% 6.0%
Swing Increase 3.7pp Decrease 6.7pp Increase 1.0pp

Results for the single-member constituencies.

Government before election

Second Rau cabinet
SPD

Government after election

Third Rau cabinet
SPD

The SPD won re-election in a landslide, recording their best-ever result with 52.1% of votes. The opposition Christian Democratic Union (CDU) suffered their worst result up until this point with 36.5%. The SPD's victory came despite an increase in support for minor parties: the Free Democratic Party (FDP) returned to the Landtag with 6% and 14 seats, while The Greens narrowly fell short with 4.6% of votes. The magnitude of the SPD's victory saw them win 125 of the 151 single-member constituencies, resulting in a number of leveling seats being added to ensure proportionality, boosting the Landtag to 227 seats.

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 11 May 1980, the SPD recorded a clear victory, winning an outright majority in the Landtag with 48.4% of votes while the CDU declined to 43.2%. The FDP fell narrowly short of the 5% threshold and lost their seats. The SPD formed government alone and Johannes Rau continued as Minister-President.

Parties

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The table below lists parties represented in the 9th Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Name Ideology Lead
candidate
1980 result
Votes (%) Seats
SPD Social Democratic Party of Germany
Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands
Social democracy Johannes Rau 48.4%
106 / 201
CDU Christian Democratic Union of Germany
Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands
Christian democracy Bernhard Worms 43.2%
95 / 201

Results

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125
14
88
PartyVotes%+/–Seats
Con.ListTotal+/–
Social Democratic Party (SPD)4,942,34652.14+3.701250125+19
Christian Democratic Union (CDU)3,463,65636.54–6.65266288–7
Free Democratic Party (FDP)565,4135.96+0.9801414+14
The Greens (GRÜNE)431,3714.55+1.58000±0
The Peace List (Frieden)61,8180.65New000New
European Labour Party (EAP)3,7010.04+0.03000±0
Centre Party (ZENTRUM)3,3660.04+0.04000±0
Marxist–Leninist Party of Germany3,3380.04New000New
Free German Workers' Party (FAP)9290.01New000New
The Responsible Citizens (Mündige Bürger)9250.01New000New
Communist Party of Germany/M–L4340.00New000New
Pensioners' Party (ASD)4000.00New000New
Family Party of Germany (FAMILIE)3750.00New000New
European Federalist Party (EFP)2840.00±0.00000±0
Humanist Party (HP)2800.00New000New
Liberal Democrats (LD)1990.00New000New
League of Socialist Workers (BSA)510.00New000New
Independents5540.01+0.0100±0
Total9,479,440100.0015176227+26
Valid votes9,479,44099.15
Invalid/blank votes81,2410.85
Total votes9,560,681100.00
Registered voters/turnout12,705,76375.25
Source: [1] [2]
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  • "Electoral system of North Rhine-Westphalia". Wahlrecht.de (in German). 15 May 2022. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
  • "Screenplay for Bonn". Der Spiegel (in German). 19 May 1985.

References

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