2023 Bavarian state election

2023 Bavarian state election
← 2018 8 October 2023 (2023-10-08) Next →
All 203 seats in the Landtag of Bavaria (including 23 overhang and leveling seats)
102 seats needed for a majority
Turnout6,902,684 (73.3%)
Increase 1.1%
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Markus Söder Hubert Aiwanger Katrin Ebner-Steiner
Martin Böhm
Party CSU FW AfD
Last election 85 seats, 37.2% 27 seats, 11.6% 22 seats, 10.2%
Seats won 85 37 32
Seat change Steady Increase 10 Increase 10
Popular vote 5,059,571 2,163,849 2,000,435
Percentage 37.0% 15.8% 14.6%
Swing Decrease 0.2% Increase 4.3% Increase 4.4%
  Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party
 
Leader Katharina Schulze
Ludwig Hartmann 		Florian von Brunn Martin Hagen
Party Greens SPD FDP
Last election 38 seats, 17.6% 22 seats, 9.7% 11 seats, 5.1%
Seats won 32 17 0
Seat change Decrease 6 Decrease 5 Decrease 11
Popular vote 1,972,725 1,140,753 413,887
Percentage 14.4% 8.4% 3.0%
Swing Decrease 3.2% Decrease 1.3% Decrease 2.1%
Map of the election, showing the winner of each single-member district and the distribution of list seats in the constituencies.
Government before election

Second Söder cabinet
CSU—FW

Government after election

Third Söder cabinet
CSU—FW

The 2023 Bavarian state election was held on 8 October 2023 to elect the members of the 19th Landtag of Bavaria. The outgoing government was a coalition of the Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU) and the Free Voters of Bavaria (FW) led by Minister-President of Bavaria Markus Söder. The 2023 Hessian state election was held the same day.

The CSU remained the largest party with only a slight decline to 37%. The Free Voters improved to second place with 16%, their best result to date. The opposition Alternative for Germany (AfD) was a close third on 15%. The Greens declined to 14%, followed by the Social Democratic Party (SPD) on a historic low of 8%. The Free Democratic Party (FDP) fell to 3% and lost their seats.[1]

Overall, the incumbent coalition increased its majority thanks to the Free Voters' gains. The result, amidst a campaign dominated by federal issues such as immigration, was perceived as a blow for the federal government, with its three member parties – the SPD, Greens, and FDP – all suffering losses. The results also indicated the increasing popularity of the far-right AfD, which in previous months had moved into second place in federal opinion polling.[2][3]

  1. ^ "Germany: Scholz coalition battered in Bavaria, Hesse polls". Deutsche Welle. 9 October 2023.
  2. ^ "German conservative opposition wins 2 state elections, with far-right making gains". Associated Press. 8 October 2023.
  3. ^ "German voters move further to the right". Deutsche Welle. 9 October 2023.