1991 Rhineland-Palatinate state election
21 April 1991
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All 101 seats of the Landtag of Rhineland-Palatinate 51 seats needed for a majority | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Turnout | 2,125,407 (73.9%) 3.1% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Results for the single-member constituencies | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1991 Rhineland-Palatinate state election was held on 21 April 1991 to elect the members of the Landtag of Rhineland-Palatinate. The incumbent coalition government of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Free Democratic Party (FDP) led by Minister-President Carl-Ludwig Wagner was defeated, losing its majority.[1] The Social Democratic Party (SPD) moved into first place, forming a coalition with the FDP. SPD leader Rudolf Scharping was subsequently elected as Minister-President.[2]
This election marked several changes in the state history:
First, a change in the state election system. Previous elections were held purely proportionally, however, from that election on, the elections were held more in line with the federal mixed-member proportional representation, with both direct constituencies and proportional representation.
Secondly, from 1991 on, the Landtag became elected for five years instead of the previous four.
Thirdly, the election marked a shift in the state's political alignment: for 44 years (1947-1991) the state had been governed by CDU, with CDU coming first in every election.[3] As of 2023, the state has been continuously governed by SPD since the election.
Parties
The table below lists parties represented in the previous Landtag of Rhineland-Palatinate.
| Name | Ideology | Leader(s) | 1987 result | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes (%) | Seats | |||||
| CDU | Christian Democratic Union of Germany Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands |
Christian democracy | Carl-Ludwig Wagner | 45.1% | 48 / 101
| |
| SPD | Social Democratic Party of Germany Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands |
Social democracy | Rudolf Scharping | 38.8% | 40 / 101
| |
| FDP | Free Democratic Party Freie Demokratische Partei |
Classical liberalism | 7.3% | 7 / 101
| ||
| Grüne | Alliance 90/The Greens Bündnis 90/Die Grünen |
Green politics | 5.9% | 5 / 101
| ||
Election result[4]
| Party | Votes | % | +/- | Seats | +/- | Seats % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Social Democratic Party (SPD) | 951,695 | 44.8 | 6.0 | 47 | 7 | 46.5 | |
| Christian Democratic Union (CDU) | 822,449 | 38.7 | 6.4 | 40 | 8 | 39.6 | |
| Free Democratic Party (FDP) | 146,400 | 6.9 | 0.4 | 7 | 0 | 6.9 | |
| Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne) | 137,139 | 6.5 | 0.6 | 7 | 2 | 6.9 | |
| The Republicans (REP) | 43,380 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0 | ±0 | 0 | |
| Others | 24,244 | 1.1 | 0 | ±0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 2,125,407 | 100.0 | 101 | 1 | |||
| Voter turnout | 73.9 | 3.1 | |||||
References
- ^ "Carl-Ludwig Wagner: Ex-Ministerpräsident von Rheinland-Pfalz ist tot - WELT". DIE WELT (in German). Retrieved 2025-11-30.
- ^ "Landtag Rheinland-Pfalz" (PDF). dokumente.landtag.rlp.de. Retrieved 30 November 2025.
- ^ "Sports Cars, Sleaze and Gamma Rays: Rhineland-Palatinate Elects Its FirstRed-Green Government - kai arzheimer". 2012-06-08. Retrieved 2025-11-30.
- ^ "Results of the Parliamentary Election in Rhineland-Palatinate 1991". politpro.eu. Retrieved 30 November 2025.