1991 Rhineland-Palatinate state election
21 April 1991
All 101 seats of the Landtag of Rhineland-Palatinate
51 seats needed for a majority
Turnout2,125,407 (73.9%)
Decrease 3.1%
  First party Second party
 
Leader Rudolf Scharping Carl-Ludwig Wagner
Party SPD CDU
Last election 40 seats, 38.8% 48 seats, 45.1%
Seats won 47 40
Seat change Increase 7 Decrease 8
Popular vote 951,695 822,449
Percentage 44.8% 38.7%
Swing Increase 6.0% Decrease 6.4%
  Third party Fourth party
 
Party FDP Greens
Last election 7 seats, 7.3% 5 seats, 5.9%
Seats won 7 7
Seat change Steady 0 Increase 2
Popular vote 146,400 137,139
Percentage 6.9% 6.5%
Swing Decrease 0.4% Increase 0.6%
Results for the single-member constituencies
Minister-President before election

Carl-Ludwig Wagner
CDU

 Elected Minister-President

Rudolf Scharping
SPD

The 1991 Rhineland-Palatinate state election was held on 21 April 1991 to elect the members of the Landtag of Rhineland-Palatinate. The incumbent coalition government of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Free Democratic Party (FDP) led by Minister-President Carl-Ludwig Wagner was defeated, losing its majority. The Social Democratic Party (SPD) moved into first place, forming a coalition with the FDP. SPD leader Rudolf Scharping was subsequently elected as Minister-President.

This election marked several changes in the state history:

First, a change in the state election system. Previous elections were held purely proportionally, however, from that election on, the elections were held more in line with the federal mixed-member proportional representation, with both direct constituencies and proportional representation.

Secondly, from 1991 on, the Landtag became elected for five years instead of the previous four.

Thirdly, the election marked a shift in the state's political alignment: for 44 years (1947-1991) the state had been governed by CDU, with CDU coming first in every election As of 2023, the state has been continuously governed by SPD since the election.

Parties

The table below lists parties represented in the previous Landtag of Rhineland-Palatinate.

Name Ideology Leader(s) 1987 result
Votes (%) Seats
CDU Christian Democratic Union of Germany
Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands		 Christian democracy Carl-Ludwig Wagner 45.1%
48 / 101
SPD Social Democratic Party of Germany
Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands		 Social democracy Rudolf Scharping 38.8%
40 / 101
FDP Free Democratic Party
Freie Demokratische Partei		 Classical liberalism 7.3%
7 / 101
Grüne Alliance 90/The Greens
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen		 Green politics 5.9%
5 / 101

Election result

Summary of the 21 April 1991 election results for the Landtag of Rhineland-Palatinate
Party Votes  % +/- Seats +/- Seats %
Social Democratic Party (SPD) 951,695 44.8 Increase6.0 47 Increase7 46.5
Christian Democratic Union (CDU) 822,449 38.7 Decrease6.4 40 Decrease8 39.6
Free Democratic Party (FDP) 146,400 6.9 Increase0.4 7 Steady0 6.9
Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne) 137,139 6.5 Increase0.6 7 Increase2 6.9
The Republicans (REP) 43,380 2.0 Increase2.0 0 ±0 0
Others 24,244 1.1 0 ±0 0
Total 2,125,407 100.0 101 Increase1
Voter turnout 73.9 Decrease3.1
Popular Vote
SPD
 
 44.78%
CDU
 
 38.70%
FDP
 
 6.89%
B'90/GRÜNE
 
 6.45%
REP
 
 2.05%
Other
 
 1.14%
Landtag seats
SPD
 
 46.53%
CDU
 
 39.60%
FDP
 
 6.93%
B'90/GRÜNE
 
 6.93%


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