What is the difference between an exit poll, a projection and the final result?

The exit poll is based on surveys of voters immediately after they cast their ballot and is published the moment polling stations close. A projection extrapolates the votes already counted to the country as a whole and becomes more accurate as counting proceeds. The final official result is only confirmed once every vote has been counted and certified by the electoral authority.

Why doesn't a party's vote share match its share of the seats?

Votes are converted into seats under the rules of the electoral system. Electoral thresholds leave small parties without a mandate, while constituencies, rounding methods or additional seats shift the distribution further. That is why a party with less than half of the votes can end up with more than half of the seats.

Who forms the government after the election?

A government needs a majority of the seats in parliament behind it – either a single party or several together in a coalition. The election only distributes the seats; which alliance emerges from them is negotiated afterwards.

Hamburg Hamburg Parliamentary Election: Results, Seat Distribution, and Coalition Options

Election Winner

SPD

45.6 % of votes

Parties in Parliament

+1 compared to 2011

Voter Turnout

56.5 %

-0.8 percentage points compared to 2011

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Final Official Results of Hamburg's Parliamentary Election

The bars show each party's vote share, the chips the swing since the previous election. Results of Hamburg's Parliamentary Election Held on 15 February 2015

SPD

45.6

-2.8

CDU

15.9

-6.0

Grüne

12.3

+12.3

Linke

8.5

+2.1

FDP

7.4

+0.7

AfD

6.1

+6.1

Piraten

1.6

-0.5

PARTEI

0.9

+0.2

0.5

+0.5

ÖDP

0.4

+0.1

RENTN.

0.3

-0.2

Heimat

0.3

-0.6

HHBL

0.2

+0.2

Scheuerl

0.2

+0.2

Beteil.

0.1

+0.1

HaraAlt

0.1

+0.1

Sozial

< 0.1

±0.0

HWP

< 0.1

±0.0

WN!

< 0.1

±0.0

Government cannot remain in office

The incumbent governing parties achieved 47.9% of the seats.

Seat Distribution After Hamburg's Parliamentary Election

Total seats

121

Majority

Parties

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Coalition Calculator: Possible Majorities After Hamburg's Parliamentary Election

0 121

Majority 61

Parties

Select parties to test coalitions.

Scenarios: What if...?

Select all parties near the electoral threshold that should enter parliament. electoral threshold at 5%.

Who Governed Hamburg After the Election?

Election Day 15/02/2015 Government formation 59 days Senat Scholz II 15/04/2015 – 28/03/2018 Senat Tschentscher I 28/03/2018 – 10/06/2020

Senat Scholz II

15 April 2015 – 28 March 2018 · 2 years 11 months

73 of 121 seats

Senat Tschentscher I

28 March 2018 – 10 June 2020 · 2 years 2 months

73 of 121 seats

All Elections

Every party in detail: votes, gains and losses

Behind each vote share we also show what percentage of all eligible voters backed a party – non-voters included.

Orientation	Party	Votes	Electorate	Seats
Centre-Left	SPD	45.6 % -2.8	25.8 %	58 -4
Centre-Right	CDU	15.9 % -6.0	9.0 %	20 -8
Environment & Climate	Grüne	12.3 % +12.3	6.9 %	15 +15
Left	Die Linke	8.5 % +2.1	4.8 %	11 +3
Liberal	FDP	7.4 % +0.7	4.2 %	9 ±0
Right	AfD	6.1 % +6.1	3.4 %	8 +8
Centre-Left	Piratenpartei	1.6 % -0.5	0.9 %	0 ±0
Satire	Die PARTEI	0.9 % +0.2	0.5 %	0 ±0
Unknown	Neue Liberale	0.5 % +0.5	0.3 %	0 ±0
Environment & Climate	ÖDP	0.4 % +0.1	0.2 %	0 ±0
Center	Rentner Partei Deutschland	0.3 % -0.2	0.2 %	0 ±0
Far-Right	Die Heimat	0.3 % -0.6	0.2 %	0 ±0
Regional	Hamburger Bürger-Liste	0.2 % +0.2	0.1 %	0 ±0
Regional	Verantwortung für Hamburg	0.2 % +0.2	0.1 %	0 ±0
Center	Bürgerbeteiligung ernst nehmen	0.1 % +0.1	0.1 %	0 ±0
Regional	Hamborg raus aus Altøna	0.1 % +0.1	0.1 %	0 ±0
Centre-Left	Demokratische Stärke	< 0.1 % ±0.0	< 0.1 %	0 ±0
Liberal	Humanwirtschaftspartei	< 0.1 % ±0.0	< 0.1 %	0 ±0
Transversal	Warum nicht!	< 0.1 % ±0.0	< 0.1 %	0 ±0

Key Parties in Hamburg's Bürgerschaft Election

Conservative

Social

Market

Progressive

Your position in comparison

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SPD Social Democratic CDU Christian Democratic Grüne Green Die Linke Left FDP Liberal AfD Right Populist Piratenpartei Centre-Left Die PARTEI Left Show all parties

All Parties

How Hamburg's Bürgerschaft Election Stacks Up Against Previous Contests

2015 Voter Turnout 56.5%

45.6 15.9 12.3 8.5 7.4 6.1

2011 Voter Turnout 57.3%

48.4 21.9 6.4 6.7

2008 Voter Turnout 68.7%

34.1 42.6 6.4 4.8

All Elections

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