2003 Bavarian state election
← 1998 21 September 2003 2008 →
All 180 seats in the Landtag of Bavaria
91 seats needed for a majority
Turnout10,248,735 (57.1%)
Decrease 12.7%
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Edmund Stoiber Franz Maget Sepp Daxenberger
Party CSU SPD Greens
Last election 123 seats, 52.9% 67 seats, 28.7% 14 seats, 5.7%
Seats won 124 41 15
Seat change Increase 1 Decrease 26 Increase 1
Popular vote 6,217,864 2,012,265 793,050
Percentage 60.7% 19.6% 7.7%
Swing Increase 7.8% Decrease 9.1% Increase 2.1%
Results for the single-member constituencies.
Minister-President before election

Edmund Stoiber
CSU

Elected Minister-President

Edmund Stoiber
CSU

The 2003 Bavarian state election was held on 21 September 2003 to elect the members to the 15th Landtag of Bavaria. The Christian Social Union (CSU) led by Minister-President Edmund Stoiber achieved the largest majority in German history, winning 69% of the seats in the Landtag. This election was the first and to date only time a single party won a two-thirds supermajority of seats in any German state parliament. The CSU also won its largest proportion of the popular vote since 1974, at 60.7%.

The election was marked by a major decline in turnout, falling by almost 13 points to 57%. As a result, despite achieving its best result in decades, the CSU won 230,000 votes fewer than it had in the 1998 election.

Parties

The table below lists parties represented in the 14th Landtag of Bavaria.

Name Ideology Leader(s) 1998 result
Votes (%) Seats
CSU Christian Social Union in Bavaria
Christlich-Soziale Union in Bayern 		Christian democracy Edmund Stoiber 52.9%
123 / 204
SPD Social Democratic Party of Germany
Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands 		Social democracy Franz Maget 28.7%
67 / 204
Grüne Alliance 90/The Greens
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen 		Green politics Sepp Daxenberger 5.7%
14 / 204

Opinion polling

Polling firm Fieldwork date Sample
size 		CSU SPD Grüne FW FDP Others Lead
2003 state election 21 Sep 2003 – 60.7 19.6 7.7 4.0 2.6 5.4[a] 41.1
Infratest dimap 6–10 Sep 2003 1,000 59 20 8 4 4 5 39
Forsa 1–5 Sep 2003 1,006 61 20 8 – 4 7 41
Forschungsgruppe Wahlen 1–4 Sep 2003 1,033 60 22 8 4 3 3 38
Forsa 4–8 Aug 2003 1,001 61 21 8 – 3 7 40
Forsa 1–11 Jul 2003 1,266 59 24 8 – 3 6 35
Infratest dimap 14–18 May 2003 1,000 60 22 8 – 4 6 38
GMS 13–18 Feb 2003 1,004 60.0 23.0 6.5 0.5 4.0 6.0[b] 37
Infratest dimap 2–5 Jan 2003 1,000 61 24 7 – 3 5 37
Infratest dimap 31 Jul–4 Aug 2002 1,000 57 26 5 – 5 7 31
Infratest dimap 3–7 Apr 2002 1,000 55 28 5 – 4 8[c] 27
Infratest dimap 7–12 Jan 2002 1,000 56 27 6 – 4 7[d] 29
GMS 15 Nov–21 Dec 2001 2,014 55.0 27.5 5.0 1.5 3.5 7.5[e] 27.5
Infratest dimap 9–13 Jul 2001 1,000 54 29 7 – 3 7[f] 25
Infratest dimap 3–6 Jan 2001 1,000 54 28 7 – 4 7[g] 26
Infratest dimap 26 Jun–1 Jul 2000 1,000 57 27 6 – 3 7[h] 30
Infratest dimap 3–7 Jan 2000 1,000 60 25 5 – 1 9[i] 35
Infratest dimap August 1999 ? 60 24 5 – 2 9[j] 36
1998 state election 13 Sep 1998 – 52.9 28.7 5.7 3.7 1.7 7.3[k] 24.2

Election result

Summary of the 21 September 2003 election results for the Landtag of Bavaria
PartyVotes%+/–Seats+/–
Christian Social Union (CSU)6,217,86460.67+7.8124+1
Social Democratic Party (SPD)2,012,26519.63-9.141-26
Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne)793,0507.74+2.115+1
Free Voters of Bavaria (FW)411,3064.01+0.40±0
Free Democratic Party (FDP)263,7312.57+0.90±0
The Republicans (REP)229,4642.24-1.40±0
Ecological Democratic Party (ÖDP)200,1031.95+0.20±0
Bavaria Party (BP)77,3900.76±0.00±0
Others43,5620.430±0
Total10,248,735100.00–180–
Popular vote
CSU
 
 60.67%
SPD
 
 19.63%
B'90/GRÜNE
 
 7.74%
FW
 
 4.01%
FDP
 
 2.57%
Other
 
 5.38%
Landtag seats
CSU
 
 68.89%
SPD
 
 22.78%
B'90/GRÜNE
 
 8.33%

Notes

  1. ^ 2.2% REP, 2.0% ÖDP, 1.2% Other
  2. ^ 1.0% PDS, 0.5% REP, 0.5% ÖDP, 4.0% Other
  3. ^ 2% Right-wing parties, 6% Other
  4. ^ 2% Right-wing parties, 5% Other
  5. ^ 3.0% PRO, 1.0% REP, 1.0% PDS, 0.5% ÖDP, 2.0% Other
  6. ^ 2% Right-wing parties, 5% Other
  7. ^ 2% Right-wing parties, 5% Other
  8. ^ 2% Right-wing parties, 5% Other
  9. ^ 3% Right-wing parties, 6% Other
  10. ^ 3% Right-wing parties, 6% Other
  11. ^ 3.6% REP, 1.8% ÖDP, 1.9% Other

Sources

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