Lower Saxony state election, 1998
The Lower Saxony state election, 1998, was conducted on March 1, 1998, to elect members to the Landtag (state legislature) of Lower Saxony, Germany.
Results
| Party | Party List votes | Vote percentage | Total Seats | Seat percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Social Democratic Party (SPD) | 2,068,477 | 47.9% (+3.6) | 83 (+2) | 52.9% |
| Christian Democratic Union (CDU) | 1,549,227 | 35.9% (-0.5) | 62 (-5) | 39.5% |
| Alliance '90/The Greens | 304,193 | 7.0% (-0.4) | 12 (-1) | 7.6% |
| Free Democratic Party (FDP) | 209,610 | 4.9% (+0.5) | 0 (=) | 0.0% |
| The Republicans | 118,975 | 2.8% (-0.9) | 0 (=) | 0.0% |
| All Others | 64,450 | 1.5% (-2.3) | 0 (=) | 0.0% |
| Totals | 4,314,932 | 100.0% | 157 (-4) | 100.0% |
Post-election
The SPD was reelected with an increased share of the vote. Prime Minister Gerhard Schröder (SPD) was able to form an SPD government again. A few days after the election, Schröder was nominated as candidate for chancellorship for the federal elections in the same year by the SPD. The Social Democrats subsequently won the September 1998 federal elections in coalition with the Greens, ending 16 years of Helmut Kohl's leadership of Germany and resulting in Schröder becoming Chancellor of Germany, until 2005.
