2006 Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state election

The 2006 Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state election was held on 17 September 2006 to elect the members of the 5th Landtag of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The incumbent coalition government of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) led by Minister-President Harald Ringstorff was returned with a reduced majority. However, the SPD chose not to continue the coalition. They instead formed a grand coalition with the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). Ringstorff was subsequently re-elected as Minister-President.

2006 Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state election

← 2002 17 September 2006 2011 →

All 71 seats in the Landtag of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
36 seats needed for a majority
Turnout818,061 (59.2%)
Decrease 11.4%
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Harald Ringstorff Jürgen Seidel Wolfgang Methling
Party SPD CDU PDS
Last election 33 seats, 40.6% 25 seats, 31.4% 13 seats, 16.4%
Seats won 23 22 13
Seat change Decrease 10 Decrease 3 Steady 0
Popular vote 247,312 235,350 137,253
Percentage 30.2% 28.8% 16.8%
Swing Decrease 10.4% Decrease 2.6% Increase 0.4%

  Fourth party Fifth party
 
Leader Michael Roolf Udo Pastörs
Party FDP NPD
Last election 0 seats, 4.7% 0 seats, 0.8%
Seats won 7 6
Seat change Increase 7 Increase 6
Popular vote 78,440 59,845
Percentage 9.6% 7.3%
Swing Increase 4.9% Increase 6.5%

Results for the single-member constituencies

Minister-President before election

Harald Ringstorff
SPD

Elected Minister-President

Harald Ringstorff
SPD

The Far Right National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD) won 6 seats.

Issues and campaign

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The economy was a major issue throughout the campaign. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern's unemployment rate was among the worst in Germany. The possibility of the far-right NPD entering the parliament also became an issue late in the campaign, with all established parties condemning it.

Parties

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The table below lists parties represented in the 4th Landtag of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

Name Ideology Leader(s) 2002 result
Votes (%) Seats
SPD Social Democratic Party of Germany
Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands
Social democracy Harald Ringstorff 20.6%
33 / 71
CDU Christian Democratic Union of Germany
Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands
Christian democracy Jürgen Seidel 31.4%
25 / 71
PDS Party of Democratic Socialism
Partei des Demokratischen Sozialismus
Democratic socialism Wolfgang Methling 16.4%
13 / 71

Opinion polling

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Polling firm Fieldwork date Sample
size
SPD CDU PDS FDP Grüne NPD Others Lead
2006 state election 17 Sep 2006 30.2 28.8 16.8 9.6 3.4 7.3 3.9 1.4
Emnid 5–7 Sep 2006 500 29 31 21 7 3 7 2 2
Forschungsgruppe Wahlen 4–7 Sep 2006 1,116 29 33 18 7 4 7 2 4
Infratest dimap 4–6 Sep 2006 1,000 31 30 20 7 4 6 2 1
Infratest dimap 27–30 Aug 2006 1,000 30 31 21 6 4 6 2 1
Emnid 22–24 Aug 2006 500 28 31 23 7 3 4 4 3
Infratest dimap 20–23 Aug 2006 1,000 31 30 23 6 3 4 3 1
Forsa 16–18 Aug 2006 1,003 28 30 24 7 4 4 3 2
Emnid 7–10 Aug 2006 500 29 31 22 7 4 3 4 2
Infratest dimap 31 Jul–2 Aug 2006 1,000 29 33 22 6 4 4 2 4
Emnid 5–12 Jul 2006 1,001 31 33 21 7 4 4 2
Infratest dimap 10–11 Jul 2006 1,000 31 32 21 7 4 5 1
Emnid 19–30 May 2006 1,009 30 31 23 7 4 4 1 1
Infratest November 2005 1,000 34 29 24 5 4 4 5
Emnid 5–8 Sep 2005 500 26 35 25 5 4 5 9
Emnid 22–25 Aug 2005 500 22 32 31 6 5 4 1
Emnid 8–11 Aug 2005 500 20 31 34 6 6 3 3
Emnid 25 Sep 2004 750 28 31 21 5 7 3 5 3
Infratest dimap 1–6 Jun 2004 1,003 29 44 15 5 5 2 15
Emnid 8 May 2004 752 28 39 17 6 7 3 11
Emnid 7 Nov 2003 750 26 41 19 5 6 3 15
Emnid 21 Jun 2003 750 35 37 14 5 5 4 2
Emnid 1 Mar 2003 ? 33 40 14 5 4 4 7
2002 state election 22 Sep 2002 40.6 31.4 16.4 4.7 2.6 0.8 3.5 9.2

Election result

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Summary of the 17 September 2006 election results for the Landtag of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
 
Party Votes % +/- Seats +/- Seats %
Social Democratic Party (SPD) 247,312 30.2  10.4 23  10 32.4
Christian Democratic Union (CDU) 235,530 28.8  2.6 22  3 31.0
Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) 137,253 16.8  0.4 13  0 18.3
Free Democratic Party (FDP) 78,440 9.6  4.9 7  7 9.9
National Democratic Party (NPD) 59,845 7.3  6.5 6  6 8.5
Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne) 27,642 3.4  0.8 0 ±0 0
Family Party (Familie) 9,463 1.2  1.2 0 ±0 0
Others 22,756 2.8 0 ±0 0
Total 818,061 100.0 71 ±0
Voter turnout 59.2  11.4
Popular Vote
SPD
30.23%
CDU
28.77%
PDS
16.78%
FDP
9.59%
NPD
7.32%
GRÜNE
3.38%
Other
3.94%
Bürgerschaft seats
SPD
32.39%
CDU
30.99%
PDS
18.31%
FDP
9.86%
NPD
8.45%

References

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Sources

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