State election in Rhineland-Palatinate 2016
The state elections in Rhineland-Palatinate in 2016 took place on March 13, 2016 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. It was the 17th election to the Rhineland-Palatinate state parliament . On the same day, the elections to the state parliaments in Baden-Württemberg and Saxony-Anhalt were held. As a result of the election result a so-called "was traffic light coalition " of SPD , Greens and FDP formed . As a result, the FDP was involved in a state government for the first time since November 2014, after its defeat in the Saxon state election campaign, and thus represented again in the Federal Council.
Starting position
In the state elections on March 27, 2011 , the SPD achieved a relative majority of votes with 35.7% of the state votes and 42 of the 101 seats in the Rhineland-Palatinate state parliament. The CDU was 35.2% of the national votes, just behind the results of the SPD and received one seat less than this. With Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen only one other party entered the state parliament in 2011. They received 15.4% of the national votes and 18 seats. The FDP missed the five percent hurdle with 4.25% and left the state parliament. The Left , the Free Voters , the Pirate Party and the NPD also failed at this hurdle, but each received at least 1% of the national votes and thus at least qualified for party funding. The turnout was 61.8%, 3.6 percentage points higher than in 2006.
After the state elections in 2011, the SPD and the Greens formed a coalition under Minister President Kurt Beck (SPD), who has been in power since 1994 . He resigned from his position in January 2013 and was replaced by his party colleague Malu Dreyer . Since the Green MP Rahim Schmidt left his party in September 2015 with reference to the refugee policy , Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen has only been represented by 17 MPs in the state parliament.
In the Bundestag election on September 22, 2013 , however, the CDU with 43.3% clearly received the highest number of second votes from Rhineland-Palatinate , followed by the SPD with 27.5%, the Greens with 7.6%, and the FDP with 5.5% % and the Left Party with 5.4%. The AfD reached 4.8%.
The European elections on May 25, 2014 also showed the CDU with 38.4% of the votes from Rhineland-Palatinate, ahead of the SPD with 30.7%. The Greens received 8.1%, the AfD 6.7%, FDP and Die Linke were on par with 3.7% each.
Election result
After the final official election result, the votes are distributed among the parties and individual applications as follows:
Political party | Constituency votes |
Share in% |
Direct mandates |
National voices |
Share in% |
Seats |
Seats 2011 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SPD | 759.264 | 36.05 | 27 | 771.848 | 36.23 | 39 | 42 |
CDU | 733.764 | 34.84 | 24 | 677.507 | 31.80 | 35 | 41 |
AfD | 147,699 | 7.01 | 268,628 | 12.61 | 14th | ||
FDP | 143,850 | 6.83 | 132.294 | 6.21 | 7th | ||
Green | 135,722 | 6.44 | 113.261 | 5.32 | 6th | 18th | |
The left | 77,341 | 3.67 | 59,970 | 2.81 | |||
Free voters | 84,945 | 4.03 | 47,924 | 2.25 | |||
PIRATES | 5,385 | 0.26 | 16,708 | 0.78 | |||
ALFA | 6,066 | 0.29 | 13,154 | 0.62 | |||
NPD | 2,602 | 0.12 | 10,565 | 0.50 | |||
ÖDP | 7,770 | 0.37 | 8,623 | 0.40 | |||
REP | 638 | 0.03 | 5,090 | 0.24 | |||
THE UNIT | 0 | 0.00 | 3,105 | 0.15 | |||
III. path | 0 | 0.00 | 1,944 | 0.09 | |||
PEACEFIGHTER * | 628 | 0.03 | |||||
Pestemer * | 371 | 0.02 | |||||
total
valid votes |
2.106.045 |
100.00 97.43 |
51 |
2,130,621 |
100.00 98.57 |
101 |
101 |
invalid votes | 55,461 | 2.57 | 30,885 | 1.43 | |||
Voter turnout |
2,161,506 |
100.00 70.36 |
2,161,506 |
100.00 70.36 |
|||
Non-voters | 910.466 | 29.64 | 910.466 | 29.64 | |||
Eligible voters | 3,071,972 | 100.00 | 3,071,972 | 100.00 |
* Individual applicants
The SPD again became the strongest party in the Rhineland-Palatinate state parliament and increased its result by around 0.5 percentage points to 36.2%. Since in this election there were far fewer state votes for parties that failed to pass the five percent hurdle, the SPD received three seats fewer than in the 16th state parliament and thus only, despite this gain, which also meant an increase in absolute numbers of votes 39. The CDU also increased its absolute number of votes, but lost relatively more than 3 percentage points and only received 35 seats in the 17th state parliament. The AfD, who stood for the first time in a state election in Rhineland-Palatinate, achieved the largest gain in votes, and with 12.6% of the state votes and 14 seats, it became the third strongest party in the state parliament. The FDP managed to re-enter the state parliament with seven seats. Alliance 90 / The Greens, on the other hand, lost two thirds of their seats and are only represented with six mandates in the state parliament. The Landtag of Rhineland-Palatinate now has five parties for the first time and the red-green coalition that has been in power since 2011 no longer has the majority of seats in the Landtag. The Left (2.8%) and Free Voters (2.3%) missed the five percent hurdle, but qualified for state party funding. All other participating parties remained below the necessary threshold of 1% of the national votes.
The turnout rose to 70.4%, an increase of 8.6 percentage points compared to the state elections of 2011 and the highest turnout in a state election in Rhineland-Palatinate since 1996. The percentage of postal votes has also increased significantly . About 661,100 eligible voters, i. H. 30.6% of all voters used this method of voting. This means an increase of around 6.3 percentage points compared to 2011.
Electoral system
As in the federal election, each voter had two votes. The first vote with which a direct candidate is elected is called the constituency vote. With the second vote, called the state vote, a party or electoral association is elected. This is decisive for the allocation of seats in the state parliament. There were 51 constituencies in this election.
Election date
According to Section 25 of the State Election Act, all Sundays from March 20 to May 15, 2016 could be used as the date of the election. Interior Minister Roger Lewentz announced on February 12, 2015 that he would propose April 17, 2016 as the election date. The election would have taken place two weeks after the Easter break. However, the parties represented in the state parliament were also open to a constitutional amendment so that the state election in Rhineland-Palatinate can take place at the same time as the state election in Baden-Württemberg , which was announced for March 13, 2016. On March 18, 2015, a corresponding draft law was in the first reading in the state parliament and was adopted by it on April 29, 2015.
Postal vote
Deviating from the usual absentee voting process most recently in the local elections 2014, the envelope with the ballot should be in the regional elections in 2016 unlocked together with the ballot , the name and address contains the electorate, be placed in the ballot envelope. This led to inquiries from citizens who saw the secrecy of the election at risk. According to the Regional Returning Officer , the reason for this measure is that on election day the postal voters' letters are thrown into the ballot box by the electoral board after the ballot papers have been separated from the voting letters. Since the ballot papers of the ballot box are unlocked, this is precisely what ensures voting secrecy.
Allocation of seats
Only those parties that received at least 5% of the national votes, or their candidates if they won a direct mandate, were taken into account when allocating seats. However , there was no basic mandate clause like the one for the federal election. The number of seats was generally 101, with the seats occupied by direct candidates who do not run for a party that has overcome the five percent hurdle being deducted from the total number before the further seat allocation takes place. 51 seats are filled by direct mandates. If one party receives more direct mandates than it is entitled to based on proportional representation , the other parties receive compensatory mandates . This may increase the total number of seats.
For the distribution of seats on the state and district lists, instead of the previous proportional method according to Hare / Niemeyer, the divisor method with standard rounding according to Sainte-Laguë / Schepers was introduced for the first time in the 2011 state election .
Candidacies
Electoral nominees who are not represented in the Landtag of Rhineland-Palatinate or the German Bundestag had to submit so-called supporters' signatures in addition to the other documents in order to participate in the election. For the election proposal of a constituency applicant, this is 125 signatures from eligible voters from the respective constituency. For the district lists or a state list, as many supporter signatures are required as there are constituencies in the corresponding area, multiplied by 40. For a state list for all of Rhineland-Palatinate with 51 constituencies, this is 2040 signatures from any eligible voters from all of Rhineland-Palatinate , for the district lists of the four electoral districts with 12 to 14 electoral districts each, 480 to 560 signatures from the respective electoral district.
The nominations had to be submitted by December 29, 2015 (75th day before the election), the approval of which was decided on January 6, 2016.
The following parties ran for the state election (order of the parties according to the number of state votes in the last state election. New candidate lists follow these in alphabetical order of their names; this affects lists No. 11 to 14).
List no. |
Political party | Abbreviation | Applicant on list position 1 |
Number of members |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Social Democratic Party of Germany | SPD | Malu Dreyer | 39,000 |
2 | Christian Democratic Union of Germany | CDU | Julia Kloeckner | 44,000 |
3 | Alliance 90 / The Greens | GREEN | Eveline Lemke | 3,044 |
4th | Free Democratic Party | FDP | Volker Wissing | 4,066 |
5 | The left | THE LEFT | Jochen Bülow | 1,600 |
6th | Free voters Rhineland-Palatinate | FREE VOTERS | - 1 | 280 |
7th | Pirate Party Germany | PIRATES | Marc Göbel | 500 |
8th | National Democratic Party of Germany | NPD | Ricarda Riefling | 208 |
9 | The Republicans | REP | Alois Röbosch | 279 |
10 | Ecological Democratic Party | ÖDP | Rainer Hilgert | 310 |
11 | Alliance for progress and awakening | ALFA | Uwe Zimmermann | 190 |
12 | Alternative for Germany | AfD | Uwe Junge | 1,200 |
13 | The III. path | III. path | Klaus Armstroff | 350 |
14th | The unit | THE UNIT | Vladimir Gratz | 60 |
Not all parties run in all constituencies. CDU, FDP and SPD are represented in all 51 constituencies, GREEN in 50, LINKE in 47, free voters in 33. In addition, two individual applicants were running.
Survey
For the Sunday question, the polling institutes gave the following results:
Institute | date | SPD | CDU | Green | FDP | left | FW | Pirates | AfD | Otherwise. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
State election 2016 | 03/13/2016 | 36.2% | 31.8% | 5.3% | 6.2% | 2.8% | 2.3% | 0.8% | 12.6% | 2.8% |
Research group elections | 03/10/2016 | 36% | 35% | 5.5% | 7% | 3% | - | - | 9% | 4.5% |
YouGov | 03/10/2016 | 35% | 36% | 6% | 6% | 4% | - | - | 11% | 2% |
Forsa | 03/09/2016 | 35% | 35% | 6% | 6% | 4% | - | - | 9% | 5% |
INSA | 07.03.2016 | 35% | 35% | 7% | 5% | 3% | - | - | 9% | 6% |
Research group elections | 03/04/2016 | 34% | 35% | 6% | 6% | 4% | - | - | 10% | 5% |
Infratest dimap | 03/03/2016 | 34% | 36% | 7% | 5% | 4% | - | - | 9% | 5% |
Infratest dimap | 03/01/2016 | 32% | 36% | 8th % | 6% | 4% | - | - | 9% | 5% |
INSA | 02/28/2016 | 32.5% | 35% | 10% | 6% | 4% | - | - | 8.5% | 4% |
GESS Phone & Field | 02/25/2016 | 33% | 37% | 8th % | 5% | 3% | 2% | - | 9% | 3% |
INSA | 02/22/2016 | 33% | 35% | 9% | 7% | 4% | - | - | 8.5% | 3.5% |
Infratest dimap | 02/11/2016 | 31% | 37% | 8th % | 6% | 4% | - | - | 9% | 5% |
INSA | 02/05/2016 | 32% | 36% | 10% | 6% | 3% | - | - | 8th % | 5% |
Research group elections | 01/22/2016 | 31% | 38% | 7% | 5% | 5% | - | - | 9% | 5% |
Infratest dimap | 01/14/2016 | 31% | 37% | 9% | 5% | 5% | - | - | 8th % | 5% |
Infratest dimap | 12/10/2015 | 31% | 39% | 9% | 5% | 5% | - | - | 7% | 4% |
INSA | 11/25/2015 | 31% | 38.5% | 11% | 4.5% | 3.5% | 2.5% | - | 7% | 2% |
GESS Phone & Field | 11/19/2015 | 33% | 40% | 9% | 5% | 3% | 2% | - | 5% | 3% |
Research group elections | 11/06/2015 | 30% | 41% | 8th % | 4% | 5% | - | - | 6% | 6% |
Infratest dimap | 09/24/2015 | 31% | 41% | 10% | 5% | 5% | - | - | 4% | 4% |
Infratest dimap | 07/23/2015 | 33% | 42% | 10% | 4% | 3% | - | - | 3% | 5% |
GESS Phone & Field | 06/26/2015 | 33% | 40% | 11% | 4% | 3% | 2% | - | 4% | 2% |
Infratest dimap | 02/19/2015 | 32% | 42% | 11% | 3% | 3% | - | - | 5% | 4% |
GESS Phone & Field | December 17, 2014 | 30% | 43% | 10% | 3% | 4% | 1 % | 1 % | 5% | 3% |
Infratest dimap | 11/13/2014 | 31% | 43% | 11% | 2% | 4% | - | - | 5% | 4% |
Infratest dimap | 09/25/2014 | 31% | 43% | 10% | 2% | 4% | - | - | 6% | 4% |
GESS Phone & Field | 06/24/2014 | 32% | 41% | 10% | 3% | 4% | 2% | - | 4% | 4% |
Infratest dimap | 05/08/2014 | 31% | 41% | 11% | 3% | 4% | - | - | 4% | 6% |
Infratest dimap | 04/03/2014 | 33% | 41% | 11% | 3% | 4% | - | - | 3% | 5% |
State election 2011 | 03/27/2011 | 35.7% | 35.2% | 15.4% | 4.2% | 3.0% | 2.3% | 1.6% | nk | 2.5% |
When asked who the citizens would directly elect to be Prime Minister, the polling institutes gave the following values:
Institute | date | Malu Dreyer (SPD) | Julia Klöckner (CDU) |
---|---|---|---|
Infratest dimap | 03/13/2016 | 54% | 34% |
Research group elections | 03/13/2016 | 49% | 37% |
Research group elections | 03/12/2016 | 49% | 38% |
Research group elections | 03/10/2016 | 50% | 34% |
Forsa | 03/09/2016 | 45% | 31% |
Research group elections | 03/04/2016 | 50% | 35% |
Infratest dimap | 03/03/2016 | 50% | 30% |
Infratest dimap | 03/01/2016 | 50% | 31% |
Infratest dimap | 02/11/2016 | 46% | 37% |
Research group elections | 01/14/2016 | 44% | 37% |
Infratest dimap | 01/14/2016 | 53% | 33% |
Research group elections | 11/06/2015 | 44% | 38% |
Infratest dimap | 09/24/2015 | 43% | 28% |
Infratest dimap | 07/23/2015 | 45% | 32% |
Infratest dimap | 02/19/2015 | 48% | 36% |
Infratest dimap | 11/13/2014 | 45% | 33% |
Infratest dimap | 09/25/2014 | 45% | 33% |
Infratest dimap | 05/08/2014 | 46% | 32% |
Infratest dimap | 04/03/2014 | 48% | 36% |
Infratest dimap | 12/12/2013 | 48% | 31% |
Infratest dimap | 05.09.2013 | 47% | 27% |
Infratest dimap | 04/25/2013 | 49% | 31% |
Infratest dimap | 01/31/2013 | 53% | 31% |
Infratest dimap | 10/11/2012 | 43% | 35% |
TV debates before the election
From February 22nd to 25th, SWR television broadcast a 30-minute series of programs entitled “Our Choice”. In the first three live broadcasts, the top politicians Eveline Lemke (Greens), Julia Klöckner (CDU) and Malu Dreyer (SPD) were interviewed. In the fourth part, questions followed to the three top candidates from the FDP, AfD and the Left, who, according to the polls, could make it into the state parliament; this broadcast was pre-recorded. Britta Krane and Michael Lueg were both moderators .
On March 1, 2016, the TV duel between the two top candidates Dreyer and Klöckner with presenter Fritz Frey was broadcast live on SWR television in Rhineland-Palatinate at 8:15 p.m.
On March 7, 2016, the private regional broadcaster DRF1 broadcast a live TV panel discussion with Roger Lewentz (SPD), Julia Klöckner (CDU), Daniel Köbler (Greens), Volker Wissing (FDP), Jochen Bülow (Linke), Stephan Wefelscheid (Free Voter), Joachim Paul (AfD) moderated by the editors-in-chief Christian Lindner ( Rhein-Zeitung ) and Christian Opitz (DRF1).
On March 10, 2016 at 8:15 p.m., the SWR broadcast a TV discussion round in Rhineland-Palatinate with the participation of Roger Lewentz (SPD), Julia Klöckner (CDU), Eveline Lemke (Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen), Volker Wissing (FDP ), Jochen Bülow (Die Linke) and Uwe Junge (AfD). Birgitta Weber (deputy SWR editor-in-chief) and Sascha Becker (presenter SWR Landesschau currently Rhineland-Palatinate ) took over the moderation .
Originally, SWR television had planned an elephant round - as in the state elections in 2011 . The top candidates of the parties represented in the state parliament and those who, according to the surveys (as of January 14, 2016), could make a leap into the state parliament should participate. Prime Minister Malu Dreyer refused to participate in the program in mid-December 2015 on the grounds: "I will not sit down at the table with AfD representatives as long as possible, with a party that I see as a great danger to our society "And" I don't understand why a right-wing populist party should be given a platform without need. "Thereupon the SWR decided to turn away from the previous concept for reporting. The program change provided for two separate programs: one in which the parties represented in the state parliament, the SPD, CDU and Greens, have their say, and subsequent recorded 10-minute individual interviews with the parties FDP, Left and AfD. As a result, Julia Klöckner also refused to participate in the elephant round for the CDU on the grounds: "It is about the State Chancellery's influence on a public broadcaster, an extortionate process." Klöckner also said: "It will help AfD, Red-Green has become the best AfD campaign worker. Instead of disenchanting them with arguments, they now become martyrs. The loser is the political culture of dealing with arguments. "
The SWR, who was criticized for its program change, accused the parties of acting “for reasons of tactical power”. The former editor-in-chief of ZDF , Nikolaus Brender , criticized the separation of the discussion groups in an interview in the Berliner Zeitung . This contradicts the previous practice of the station, and it confirms the “propaganda” of the AfD, which claims “an opinion cartel from politics and the public-law system”, which is “really devastating” as a result.
See also
- State elections in Rhineland-Palatinate
- List of members of the Rhineland-Palatinate state parliament (17th electoral term)
- Dreyer II cabinet
Web links
- Information from the regional returning officer in Rhineland-Palatinate
- Interactive atlas of the state elections in Rhineland-Palatinate 2016 Preliminary results 2016, selected applicants as well as structural data (demographics, religion, economy) and results of previous elections converted to the current constituency.
- Who is available for election? - Information from the Federal Agency for Civic Education on the parties running for the state election in Rhineland-Palatinate.
- Wahl-O-Mat of the federal and state center for political education.
- Members watch of the Parlamentwatch e. V. on the state election in Rhineland-Palatinate.
- Election analysis: How the SPD Rhineland-Palatinate defends spiegel.de from March 14, 2016.
Individual evidence
- ↑ State result Rhineland-Palatinate - final result The State Returning Officer Rhineland-Palatinate
- ↑ Calendar for the state elections 2016. ( Memento of the original from March 11, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF) wahlen.rlp.de
- ↑ Rhineland-Palatinate: SPD votes for coalition with FDP and Greens . In: The time . 2016, ISSN 0044-2070 ( zeit.de [accessed on May 22, 2016]).
- ↑ Election results of the state elections 2011 - final state result of the state elections ( memento of the original from February 12, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Criticism of refugee policy - MP leaves the Greens. SWR , September 30, 2015, accessed on March 13, 2016 .
- ↑ State result Rhineland-Palatinate - final result of the federal election 2013 ( Memento of the original from October 21, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on bundeswahlleiter.de
- ↑ European elections - state result - final result ( memento of the original of February 8, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ State Statistical Office of Rhineland-Palatinate , accessed on March 24, 2016
- ↑ State election 2016 - Part 1: Analysis of the results on election night. (PDF) (No longer available online.) Wahlen.rlp.de, archived from the original on March 27, 2016 ; Retrieved April 3, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Lewentz suggests an election date on rlp.de on February 12, 2015
- ↑ Search for election date: SPD and Greens open to constitutional amendment on focus.de from February 23, 2015
- ↑ bill of the factions of the SPD, CDU and Alliance 90 / The Greens ... tes state law to amend the Constitution for Rheinland-Pfalz (amendment of Articles 82, 83 and 135) (PDF) Landtag of Rhineland-Palatinate, 16. term, printed matter 16 / 4732 of March 12, 2015
- ↑ Press release ( Memento of the original from February 21, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed February 21, 2016
- ↑ Information from the Regional Returning Officer Rhineland-Palatinate ( Memento from May 8, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) PDF, page 4
- ↑ State Statistical Office Rhineland-Palatinate: LWL RLP - State election: press releases. (No longer available online.) In: wahlen.rlp.de. January 18, 2016, archived from the original on January 6, 2016 ; accessed on January 6, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ State election of Rhineland-Palatinate 2016 - party profiles. bpb.de, accessed on April 3, 2016 .
- ↑ Ludwigshafen - FREE VOTERS will compete with district lists for the state elections 2016 on mrn-news.de on May 3, 2015
- ^ The FW candidates for the state elections in 2016. (No longer available online.) Free voter group Rhineland-Palatinate , 2015, archived from the original on March 4, 2016 ; accessed on February 9, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Nominations - (Approved state and district lists and constituency proposals). (PDF) (No longer available online.) Wahlen.rlp.de, archived from the original on April 3, 2016 ; Retrieved April 3, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac Election polls on the state elections in Rhineland-Palatinate
- ↑ SPD. tagesschau.de, accessed on April 3, 2016 .
- ^ ZDF Slideshow. Wahltool.zdf.de, accessed on April 3, 2016 .
- ↑ State elections in Rhineland-Palatinate: Everything is possible, everything is open. (No longer available online.) Heute.de, archived from the original on March 14, 2016 ; Retrieved April 3, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Rhineland-Palatinate: According to a survey, the SPD draws level with the CDU. In: The time. Retrieved April 3, 2016 .
- ↑ ARD pre-election survey Rhineland-Palatinate: SPD continues to catch up | Rhineland-Palatinate | News. In: swr.online. Retrieved March 4, 2016 .
- ↑ On the matter of PoliTrend - Almost two weeks before the election: It's getting closer and closer between the CDU and SPD | Rhineland-Palatinate | News. In: swr.online. Retrieved March 1, 2016 .
- ↑ AfD can grow, the left is weakening. swr.online, February 11, 2016, accessed on April 3, 2016 .
- ↑ We test, you choose top candidates in the practical test; February 22nd - 25th, 6:15 pm - 6:45 pm on swr.de.
- ↑ Historical TV duel: Our choice: The duel | Rhineland-Palatinate | News. In: swr.online. Retrieved March 1, 2016 .
- ↑ Video elephant round. In: Rhein-Zeitung.de, DRF1, TV Mittelrhein, WWTV. Retrieved March 8, 2016 .
- ↑ State election in Rhineland-Palatinate: Refugee issue dominates elephant round - CDU is pushing for stricter deportation. In: dpa, focus.de. Retrieved March 9, 2016 .
- ↑ Elections - First elephant round with seven party leaders. In: dpa, focus.de. Retrieved March 8, 2016 .
- ↑ The choice with us - Elefantenrunde Rheinland-Pfalz ( video ). In: SWR. Retrieved March 11, 2016 .
- ↑ FOCUS Online: Malu Dreyer holds on to the cancellation for election talk with AfD. In: FOCUS Online. Retrieved March 8, 2016 .
- ^ SWR election reporting in Rhineland-Palatinate. In: swr.de. Retrieved March 8, 2016 .
- ↑ Why Julia Klöckner canceled the TV debate. In: Welt Online . Retrieved March 8, 2016 .
- ↑ SWR broadcasts TV debate with “all important parties”. In: Zeit Online . Retrieved March 8, 2016 .
- ↑ YouGov survey on the state elections TV debate in Rhineland-Palatinate: Majority does not want to watch. In: meedia.de. Retrieved March 8, 2016 .
- ↑ "AfD gets the martyr role for free": ZDF television council interferes in debate about SWR elephant round. In: meedia.de. Retrieved March 8, 2016 .
- ↑ January 21, 2016: SWR Intendant appeals to the parties. Press release. In: swr.online. Retrieved January 22, 2016 .
- ↑ Thomas Kröter: Nikolaus Brender calls for the TV debate to be canceled at SWR . In: Berliner Zeitung , January 21, 2016. Interview with former ZDF editor-in-chief.