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

8 July 1962
All 200 seats in the Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia 101 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	8,188,988 (73.4% 3.2pp)
First party Second party Third party   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 8 9 1 Popular vote 3,752,116 3,497,179 553,426 Percentage 46.4% 43.3% 6.8% Swing 4.1pp 4.1pp 0.3pp
Results for the single-member constituencies.
Government before election First Meyers cabinet CDU Government after election Second Meyers cabinet CDU–FDP

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

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

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

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

Party		Votes	%	+/–	Seats
					Con.	List	Total	+/–
	Christian Democratic Union (CDU)	3,752,116	46.42	–4.05	76	20	96	–8
	Social Democratic Party (SPD)	3,497,179	43.27	+4.07	74	16	90	+9
	Free Democratic Party (FDP)	553,426	6.85	–0.27	0	14	14	–1
	German Peace Union (DFU)	164,333	2.03	New	0	0	0	New
	Centre Party (ZENTRUM)	75,291	0.93	–0.12	0	0	0	±0
	All-German Party (GDP)	34,526	0.43	New	0	0	0	New
	German Community (DG)	4,917	0.06	+0.06	0	0	0	±0
	Independent Workers' Party (UAP)	426	0.01	New	0	0	0	New
	Independents	353	0.00	±0.00	–	0	0	±0
Total		8,082,567	100.00	–	150	50	200	±0
Valid votes		8,082,567	98.70
Invalid/blank votes		106,421	1.30
Total votes		8,188,988	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		11,156,285	73.40
Source: [1] [2]

External links

• "Electoral system of North Rhine-Westphalia". Wahlrecht.de (in German). 15 May 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2023.