1980 North Rhine-Westphalia state election

German state election 1980 North Rhine-Westphalia state election North Rhine-Westphalia parliamentary no 1975 North Rhine-Westphalia state election 1975 1985 North Rhine-Westphalia state election 1985 All 201 seats in the Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia 101 11 May 1980 9,874,427 (80.0% 6.1 pp) Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F055060-0011A, Köln, SPD-Parteitag, Johannes Rau.jpg 235 150 110 0 100 Johannes Rau Social Democratic Party of Germany 91 seats, 45.1% 106 15 4,756,103 48.4% 3.3 pp Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F054631-0016, Ludwigshafen, CDU-Bundesparteitag, Biedenkopf.jpg 240 150 110 0 70 Kurt BiedenkopfBiedenkopf The CDU's original lead candidate was Heinrich Köppler, who died on 20 April, shortly before the election. Biedenkopf was appointed to replace him. Christian Democratic Union of Germany 95 seats, 47.1% 95 0 4,240,885 43.2% 3.9 pp LiselotteFuncke02.jpg 120 150 110 0 10 Liselotte Funcke Free Democratic Party (Germany) 14 seats, 6.7% 0 14 489,225 4.98% 1.7 pp 1980 North Rhine-Westphalia state election.svg 400px Results for the single-member constituencies. Government First Rau cabinet SPD–FDP Government after election Second Rau cabinet SPD The 1980 North Rhine-Westphalia state election was held on 11 May 1980 to elect the 9th Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia. The outgoing government was a coalition of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and Free Democratic Party (FDP) led by Minister-President Johannes Rau. The result was a clear victory for the SPD, who won an absolute majority of 106 seats in the Landtag with 48.4% of the vote. The opposition Christian Democratic Union (CDU) declined to 43.2% and remained steady on 95 seats. The SPD's majority was ensured by the failure of the FDP to re-enter parliament: they fell just short of the 5% electoral threshold and lost all their seats. The SPD went on to form government alone for the first time in the state's history; Johannes Rau was re-elected Minister-President by the Landtag on 4 June.https://www.landtag.nrw.de//portal/WWW/dokumentenarchiv/Dokument/MMP09-2.pdf Minutes of the Landtag session of 4 June 1980 4 June 1980 de Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia Electoral system 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. 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 1975 North Rhine-Westphalia state election In the previous election held on 4 May 1975, the CDU remained the largest party with an improved lead over the SPD, while the FDP made small gains. The governing coalition retained its majority and was subsequently renewed. In September 1978, SPD parliamentary leader and culture minister Johannes Rau replaced Heinz Kühn as Minister-President. Parties The table below lists parties represented in the 8th Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia. Name Ideology Leadcandidate 1975 result Votes (%) Seats CDU Christian Democratic Union of GermanyChristlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands Christian democracy Kurt BiedenkopfBiedenkopf 47.1% 95 200 Christian Democratic Union of Germany SPD Social Democratic Party of GermanySozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands Social democracy Johannes Rau 45.1% 91 200 Social Democratic Party of Germany FDP Free Democratic PartyFreie Demokratische Partei Classical liberalism Liselotte Funcke 6.7% 14 200 Free Democratic Party (Germany) Results #F8F9FA 350 106 Social Democratic Party of Germany 95 Christian Democratic Union of Germany Con. List Total +/– Social Democratic Party (SPD) 4756103 +3.31 94 12 106 +15 Christian Democratic Union (CDU) 4240885 –3.86 57 38 95 ±0 Free Democratic Party (FDP) 489225 –1.74 0 0 0 –14 The Greens (GRÜNE) 291379 New 0 0 0 New German Communist Party (DKP) 30441 –0.22 0 0 0 ±0 The Citizens' Party (Bürgerpartei) 5410 New 0 0 0 New Communist League of West Germany (KBW) 2282 New 0 0 0 New Centre Party (ZENTRUM) 1562 –0.08 0 0 0 ±0 European Labour Party (EAP) 649 ±0.00 0 0 0 ±0 Union for Concrete Environmentalism (UNU) 200 New 0 0 0 New Independent Workers' Party (UAP) 180 ±0.00 0 0 0 ±0 European Federalist Party (EFP) 92 New 0 0 0 New Green Party of Germany (GPD) 38 New 0 0 0 New Independents 72 –0.01 0 – 0 ±0 151 50 201 +1 55909 12342282 External links https://www.wahlrecht.de/landtage/nordrhein-westfalen.htm Electoral system of North Rhine-Westphalia 19 February 2023 15 May 2022 de Wahlrecht.de https://www.spiegel.de/politik/wir-siegen-uns-noch-kaputt-a-1c9adf2f-0002-0001-0000-000014317076?context=issue We'll win ourselves to death 18 May 1980 de Der Spiegel References Notes Category:Elections in North Rhine-Westphalia Category:1980 elections in Germany Category:1980s in North Rhine-Westphalia Category:1980 in West Germany Category:May 1980 in Europe