1987 West German federal election

1987 West German federal election

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All 497 seats in the Bundestag[a] 249 seats needed for a majority
Registered	45,327,982 2.8%
Turnout	38,225,294 (84.3%) 4.8pp
First party Second party   Candidate Helmut Kohl Johannes Rau Party CDU/CSU SPD Last election 48.8%, 244 seats 38.2%, 193 seats Seats won 223[b] 186[c] Seat change 21 7 Popular vote 16,761,572 14,025,763 Percentage 44.2% 37.0% Swing 4.6pp 1.2pp   Third party Fourth party   Candidate Martin Bangemann Petra Kelly Party FDP Green Last election 6.9%, 34 seats 5.6%, 27 seats Seats won 46[d] 42[e] Seat change 12 15 Popular vote 3,440,911 3,126,256 Percentage 9.1% 8.3% Swing 2.2pp 2.7pp
The left side shows the winning party vote in the constituencies, the right side shows the seats won by parties in each of the states. The pie chart over West Berlin shows the partisan composition of its legislature.
Government before election Second Kohl cabinet CDU/CSU–FDP Government after election Third Kohl cabinet CDU/CSU–FDP

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Federal elections were held in West Germany on 25 January 1987 to elect the members of the 11th Bundestag. This was the last federal election held in West Germany before German reunification.

Issues and campaign[]

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The SPD nominated Johannes Rau, their vice chairman and the Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia, as their candidate for Chancellor. However, the SPD suffered from internal divisions and competition with the Greens.^{[citation needed]} It was also unclear as to how they would form a government, as the Greens were divided over whether to take part in governments.^{[citation needed]}

One of the major issues in this election was the environment, after the Chernobyl disaster and other accidents.^{[citation needed]}

Results[]

Party		Constituency			Party list			Total seatsa	+/–
		Votes	%	Seats	Votes	%	Seats
	Social Democratic Party (SPD)	14,787,953	39.2	79	14,025,763	37.0	107	186	−7
	Christian Democratic Union (CDU)b	14,168,527	37.5	124	13,045,745	34.4	50	174	−17
	Christian Social Union (CSU)b	3,859,244	10.2	45	3,715,827	9.8	4	49	−4
	Free Democratic Party (FDP)	1,760,496	4.7	0	3,440,911	9.1	46	46	+12
	The Greens (GRÜNE)c	2,649,459	7.0	0	3,126,256	8.3	42	42	+15
	National Democratic Party (NPD)	182,880	0.5	0	227,054	0.6	0	0	0
	Ecological Democratic Party (ÖDP)	40,765	0.1	0	109,152	0.3	0	0	0
	The Women (FRAUEN)	–	–	–	62,904	0.2	0	0	New
	Bavaria Party (BP)	8,024	0.0	0	26,367	0.1	0	0	0
	Responsible Citizens	611	0.0	0	24,630	0.1	0	0	New
	Patriots for Germany (Patrioten)d	27,352	0.1	0	22,732	0.1	0	0	0
	Centre Party (ZENTRUM)	4,020	0.0	0	19,035	0.1	0	0	0
	Marxist–Leninist Party of Germany (MLPD)	596	0.0	0	13,422	0.0	0	0	New
	Christian Bavarian People's Party (CBV)	741	0.0	0	5,282	0.0	0	0	0
	All Social Insurants and Pensioners (ASD)	3,151	0.0	0	1,834	0.0	0	0	New
	Free German Workers' Party (FAP)	349	0.0	0	405	0.0	0	0	New
	Humanist Party (HP)	788	0.0	0	–	–	–	0	New
	Solidarity (SOLIDARITÄT)	754	0.0	0	–	–	–	0	New
	Independent Workers' Party (UAP)	352	0.0	0	–	–	–	0	0
	Family Party (FAMILIE)	130	0.0	0	–	–	–	0	New
	Free Social Union (FSU)	110	0.0	0	–	–	–	0	0
	Independents and voter groups	246,511	0.7	0	–	–	–	0	0
Valid votes		37,742,813	98.7	–	37,867,319	99.1	–	–	–
Invalid/blank votes		482,481	1.3	–	357,975	0.9	–	–	–
Total votes		38,225,294	100.0	248	38,225,294	100.0	249	497	−1
Registered voters/turnout		45,327,982	84.3	–	45,327,982	84.3	–	–	–
Source: Bundeswahlleiter

^a – excludes the non-voting delegates for West Berlin (11 CDU, 7 SPD, 2 FDP, 2 AL).

^b – The Christian Democratic Union and the Christian Social Union of Bavaria call themselves sister parties. They do not compete against each other in the same geographical regions and they form one group within the Bundestag.

^c – known as Alternative Liste für Demokratie und Umweltschutz (AL) in West Berlin.

^d – previously the European Workers' Party (Europäische Arbeiter-Partei, EAP).

Seat results – SPD in red, Greens in green, FDP in yellow, CDU/CSU in black

Post-election[]

The coalition between the CDU/CSU and the FDP returned to government, with Helmut Kohl as Chancellor. The Greens came into parliament for the second time and seemed to be established on federal level.

Notes[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1987 Germany Bundestagswahl.

References[]

Sources[]

• The Federal Returning Officer
• Psephos