2023 Hessian state election

2023 Hessian state election

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All 133 seats of the Landtag of Hesse, including 23 overhang and leveling seats
67 seats needed for a majority
Turnout2,812,560 (64.9%)
Decrease 2.4%
  First party Second party Third party
 
Boris Rhein (Martin Rulsch) 2013-02-26 2.jpg
MJK 43662 Robert Lambrou (Hessischer Landtag 2019).jpg
2023-02-12 BMW IBU World Championships Biathlon Oberhof 2023 – Men 12.5 km Pursuit by Sandro Halank–004.jpg
Leader Boris Rhein Robert Lambrou Nancy Faeser
Party CDU AfD SPD
Last election 40 seats, 27.0% 19 seats, 13.1% 29 seats, 19.8%
Seats won 52 28 23
Seat change Increase 12 Increase 9 Decrease 6
Popular vote 972,876 518,763 424,587
Percentage 34.6% 18.4% 15.1%
Swing Increase 7.6% Increase 5.3% Decrease 4.7%

  Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party
 
2016-02-04 Tarek Al-Wazir - MdL Hessen - 3647-2.jpg
MJK 43467 Stefan Naas (Hessischer Landtag 2019).jpg
Die Linke
Leader Tarek Al-Wazir Stefan Naas Elisabeth Kula
Jan Schalauske
Party Greens FDP Left
Last election 29 seats, 19.8% 11 seats, 7.5% 9 seats, 6.3%
Seats won 22 8 0
Seat change Decrease 7 Decrease 3 Decrease 9
Popular vote 416,035 141,644 86,842
Percentage 14.8% 5.0% 3.1%
Swing Decrease 5.0% Decrease 2.5% Decrease 3.2%

Map of the election, showing the winner of each single-member district and the distribution of list seats

Government before election

First Rhein cabinet
CDUGreen

Government after election

Second Rhein cabinet
CDUSPD

The 2023 Hessian state elections was held on Sunday October 8, to elect the 21st Landtag of Hesse.[1] The outgoing government was a coalition of the Christian Democratic Union and The Greens, led by Minister-President Boris Rhein of the CDU. The 2023 Bavarian state election was held the same day.

The result was a clear victory for the CDU, which took almost 35% of the vote on a swing of 7.6 percentage points. At 18%, the Alternative for Germany lifted its vote by over five points and became the second-largest party in a Western state for the first time. The Greens conversely lost five points, falling to fourth place on 15%, just behind the opposition Social Democratic Party (SPD) which suffered similar losses. The Free Democratic Party (FDP) narrowly passed the 5% electoral threshold with a 5.035% vote share; meanwhile, The Left fell to 3.1% and lost all their seats.[2]

Overall, the incumbent coalition increased its majority, with a strengthened position for the leading CDU. 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.[3][4]

  1. ^ "Landtagswahl findet am 8. Oktober 2023 statt". hessen.de (in German). 17 January 2023. Retrieved 2023-01-31.
  2. ^ "Germany: Scholz coalition battered in Bavaria, Hesse polls". Deutsche Welle. 9 October 2023.
  3. ^ "German conservative opposition wins 2 state elections, with far-right making gains". Associated Press. 8 October 2023.
  4. ^ "German voters move further to the right". Deutsche Welle. 9 October 2023.