1970 North Rhine-Westphalia state election

German state election 1970 North Rhine-Westphalia state election North Rhine-Westphalia parliamentary no 1966 North Rhine-Westphalia state election 1966 1975 North Rhine-Westphalia state election 1975 All 200 seats in the Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia 101 14 June 1970 8,739,940 (73.5% 3.0 pp) Heinrich Köppler.jpg 150 150 110 0 30 Heinrich Köppler Christian Democratic Union of Germany 86 seats, 42.8% 95 9 4,020,186 46.3% 3.5 pp Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F023752-0007, Heinz Kühn.jpg 200 150 110 15 50 Heinz Kühn Social Democratic Party of Germany 99 seats, 49.5% 94 5 3,996,808 46.1% 3.4 pp Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F060665-0013, Köln, FDP-Parteitag, Hoppe, Weyer.jpg 325 150 110 10 175 Willi Weyer Free Democratic Party (Germany) 15 seats, 7.4% 11 4 478,420 5.5% 1.9 pp 1970 North Rhine-Westphalia state election.svg 400px Results for the single-member constituencies. Government First Kühn cabinet SPD–FDP Government after election Second Kühn cabinet SPD–FDP The 1970 North Rhine-Westphalia state election was held on 14 June 1970 to elect the 7th 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 Heinz Kühn. The opposition Christian Democratic Union (CDU) returned as the largest party after falling to second in 1966, winning a narrow plurality of 46.3%, with a lead of 0.2% and one seat over the SPD. The FDP suffered losses and declined to 5.5%. Overall, the incumbent coalition retained a reduced majority of 105 seats. However, a number of FDP deputies opposed to cooperation with the SPD refused to vote for Kühn in the investiture vote on 28 July; he was re-elected with the minimum majority of 101 votes out of 200. There were 95 votes for CDU leader Heinrich Köppler and four abstentions.https://www.landtag.nrw.de//portal/WWW/dokumentenarchiv/Dokument/MMP07-2.pdf Minutes of the Landtag session of 28 July 1970 28 July 1970 de Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia In October, three members of the FDP faction defected to the new party National Liberal Action, leaving the government with a narrow majority of 102 seats.https://www.zeit.de/1970/42/ein-tanz-auf-dem-vulkan A dance on the volcano? 16 October 1970 de Die Zeit Nonetheless, it completed its full term. Electoral system The Landtag was elected via mixed-member proportional representation. 150 members were elected in single-member constituencies via first-past-the-post voting, and fifty were 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 below this threshold are ineligible to receive seats. Background 1966 North Rhine-Westphalia state election In the previous election held on 10 July 1966, the SPD became the largest party for the first time in the state, coming just short of a majority with 49.5% and 99 seats. The CDU was reduced to second place with 43%, and the FDP improved to 7.4%. The incumbent CDU–FDP coalition was renewed, but collapsed in November after a grand coalition took power federally. The FDP subsequently agreed to a coalition with the SPD, and Heinz Kühn was elected Minister-President by the Landtag. Parties The table below lists parties represented in the 6th Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia. Name Ideology Leadcandidate 1966 result Votes (%) Seats SPD Social Democratic Party of GermanySozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands Social democracy Heinz Kühn 49.5% 99 200 Social Democratic Party of Germany CDU Christian Democratic Union of GermanyChristlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands Christian democracy Heinrich Köppler 42.8% 86 200 Christian Democratic Union of Germany FDP Free Democratic PartyFreie Demokratische Partei Classical liberalism Willi Weyer 7.4% 15 200 Free Democratic Party (Germany) Results #F8F9FA 350 94 Social Democratic Party of Germany 11 Free Democratic Party (Germany) 95 Christian Democratic Union of Germany Con. List Total +/– Christian Democratic Union (CDU) 4020186 +3.57 65 30 95 +9 Social Democratic Party (SPD) 3996808 –3.42 85 9 94 –5 Free Democratic Party (FDP) 478420 –1.91 0 11 11 –4 National Democratic Party (NPD) 94043 New 0 0 0 New German Communist Party (DKP) 76964 New 0 0 0 New Centre Party (ZENTRUM) 9902 –0.09 0 0 0 ±0 Independent Workers' Party (UAP) 1504 –0.02 0 0 0 ±0 150 50 200 ±0 62113 11890609 References External links https://www.wahlrecht.de/landtage/nordrhein-westfalen.htm Electoral system of North Rhine-Westphalia 17 February 2023 15 May 2022 de Wahlrecht.de Category:Elections in North Rhine-Westphalia Category:1970 elections in Germany Category:1970s in North Rhine-Westphalia Category:June 1970 in Europe Category:1970 in West Germany