1970 North Rhine-Westphalia state election

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.

1970 North Rhine-Westphalia state election

14 June 1970
All 200 seats in the Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia 101 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	8,739,940 (73.5% 3.0pp)
First party Second party Third party   Candidate Heinrich Köppler Heinz Kühn Willi Weyer Party CDU SPD FDP Last election 86 seats, 42.8% 99 seats, 49.5% 15 seats, 7.4% Seats won 95 94 11 Seat change 9 5 4 Popular vote 4,020,186 3,996,808 478,420 Percentage 46.3% 46.1% 5.5% Swing 3.5pp 3.4pp 1.9pp
Results for the single-member constituencies.
Government before election First Kühn cabinet SPD–FDP Government after election Second Kühn cabinet SPD–FDP

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. 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. 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

Main article: 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	Lead candidate	1966 result
					Votes (%)	Seats
	SPD	Social Democratic Party of Germany Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands	Social democracy	Heinz Kühn	49.5%	99 / 200
	CDU	Christian Democratic Union of Germany Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands	Christian democracy	Heinrich Köppler	42.8%	86 / 200
	FDP	Free Democratic Party Freie Demokratische Partei	Classical liberalism	Willi Weyer	7.4%	15 / 200

Results

Party		Votes	%	+/–	Seats
					Con.	List	Total	+/–
	Christian Democratic Union (CDU)	4,020,186	46.33	+3.57	65	30	95	+9
	Social Democratic Party (SPD)	3,996,808	46.06	–3.42	85	9	94	–5
	Free Democratic Party (FDP)	478,420	5.51	–1.91	0	11	11	–4
	National Democratic Party (NPD)	94,043	1.08	New	0	0	0	New
	German Communist Party (DKP)	76,964	0.89	New	0	0	0	New
	Centre Party (ZENTRUM)	9,902	0.11	–0.09	0	0	0	±0
	Independent Workers' Party (UAP)	1,504	0.02	–0.02	0	0	0	±0
Total		8,677,827	100.00	–	150	50	200	±0
Valid votes		8,677,827	99.29
Invalid/blank votes		62,113	0.71
Total votes		8,739,940	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		11,890,609	73.50
Source: [1] [2]

External links

• "Electoral system of North Rhine-Westphalia". Wahlrecht.de (in German). 15 May 2022. Retrieved 17 February 2023.