The 2013 Lower Saxony state election was held on 20 January 2013 to elect the members of the 17th Landtag of Lower Saxony. The incumbent coalition government of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Free Democratic Party (FDP) led by Minister-President David McAllister was defeated. The Social Democratic Party (SPD) formed a government with The Greens which held a slim, one-seat majority. Stephan Weil was subsequently elected Minister-President.^[1]

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Quick Facts All 137 seats in the Landtag of Lower Saxony 69 seats needed for a majority, Turnout ...

2013 Lower Saxony state election

← 2008 20 January 2013 2017 →
All 137 seats in the Landtag of Lower Saxony 69 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	3,574,900 (59.4%) 2.4%
First party Second party Third party   Leader David McAllister Stephan Weil Anja Piel & Stefan Wenzel Party CDU SPD Greens Last election 68 seats, 42.5% 48 seats, 30.3% 12 seats, 8.0% Seats won 54 49 20 Seat change 14 1 8 Popular vote 1,287,549 1,165,538 489,473 Percentage 36.0% 32.6% 13.7% Swing 6.5% 2.3% 5.7%   Fourth party Fifth party   Leader Stefan Birkner Manfred Sohn Party FDP Left Last election 13 seats, 8.2% 11 seats, 7.1% Seats won 14 0 Seat change 1 11 Popular vote 354,970 112,212 Percentage 9.9% 3.1% Swing 1.7% 4.0%
Results for the single-member constituencies
Minister-President before election David McAllister CDU Elected Minister-President Stephan Weil SPD

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The CDU–FDP coalition had governed since the 2003. In the 2008 state election, the SPD under Wolfgang Jüttner lost more than three percentage points, suffering its worst ever result in Lower Saxony. The FDP retained their status as the third strongest party, leading the Greens by just 0.2%. The Left won 7.1 percent of the vote, crossing the electoral threshold and winning seats for the first time.

Most polls taken in early 2012 showed a SPD–Green majority. However, in the lead-up to the election, polls tightened, with the CDU–FDP coalition virtually neck and neck with the SPD–Green coalition. Polling suggested that the FDP's vote could be very close to 5%, which led some officials in the CDU to suggest tactically voting FDP to ensure it met the threshold.^[1]

Before the election, the SPD and Greens announced their plan to govern and campaign together. The CDU acted independently of the FDP during the campaign, but sought to continue the incumbent coalition. If a CDU–FDP coalition could not be formed, the CDU stated that the SPD would be their second choice. However, the SPD itself rejected the idea of a grand coalition.^[1]

The system used was Mixed-member proportional representation. The results in the electoral districts were determined using FPTP and the overall result using the D'Hondt method.^[2]

The table below lists parties represented in the 16th Landtag of Lower Saxony.