1999 Saarland state election

The 1999 Saarland state election was held on 5 September 1999 to elect the members of the Landtag of Saarland. The incumbent Social Democratic Party (SPD) government led by Minister-President Reinhard Klimmt was defeated. The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) won a narrow majority of one seat. CDU leader Peter Müller was subsequently elected Minister-President.

1999 Saarland state election

5 September 1999
All 51 seats of the Landtag of Saarland 26 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	557,337 (68.7%) 14.8%
Leader Peter Müller Reinhard Klimmt Christian Molitor Party CDU SPD Green Last election 21 seats, 38.6% 27 seats, 49.4% 3 seats, 5.5% Seats won 26 25 0 Seat change 5 2 3 Popular vote 253,856 247,311 18,106 Percentage 45.5% 44.4% 3.2% Swing 6.9% 5.0% 2.3%
Minister-President before election Reinhard Klimmt SPD Elected Minister-President Peter Müller CDU

Parties

The table below lists parties represented in the previous Landtag of Saarland.

Name			Ideology	Leader(s)	1994 result
					Votes (%)	Seats
	SPD	Social Democratic Party of Germany Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands	Social democracy	Reinhard Klimmt	49.4%	27 / 51
	CDU	Christian Democratic Union of Germany Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands	Christian democracy	Peter Müller	38.6%	21 / 51
	Grüne	Alliance 90/The Greens Bündnis 90/Die Grünen	Green politics	Christian Molitor	5.5%	3 / 51

Opinion polling

Polling firm	Fieldwork date	Sample size	SPD	CDU	Grüne	FDP	Others	Lead
1999 state election	5 September 1999	–	44.4	45.5	3.2	2.6	4.2	1.1
Forschungsgruppe Wahlen	31 Aug 1999	1,017	46	45	4	4	1	1
Infratest dimap	18 Aug 1999	1,000	43	45	5	3	4	2
Infratest dimap	14–18 Jul 1999	1,000	43	46	4.5	2	4.5	3
Infratest dimap	17–21 Jun 1999	1,000	42	46	4	3	5	4
Emnid	25–29 Mar 1999	1,000	45	42	6	3	4	3
Forsa	March 1999	?	51	41	4	2	2	10
Forsa	19 Feb 1999	?	51	36	?	?	?	15
Emnid	30 Jan 1999	?	46	41	7	2	?	5
1994 state election	16 October 1994	–	49.4	38.6	5.5	2.1	4.4	10.8

Election result

Summary of the 5 September 1999 election results for the Landtag of Saarland

Party		Votes	%	+/-	Seats	+/-	Seats %
	Christian Democratic Union (CDU)	253,856	45.5	6.9	26	5	51.0
	Social Democratic Party (SPD)	247,311	44.4	5.0	25	2	49.0
	Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne)	18,106	3.2	2.3	0	3	0
	Free Democratic Party (FDP)	14,259	2.6	0.5	0	±0	0
	Others	23,805	4.2		0	±0	0
Total		557,337	100.0		51	±0
Voter turnout			68.7	14.8

Sources

• The Federal Returning Officer