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1/11
Protected voting:
Around 13 million people in North Rhine-Westphalia were called upon to elect a new state parliament.
According to ZDF data, the turnout was only 56 percent.
In the 2017 state election, it was 65.2 percent.
Here you can see a man with a hat casting a vote in Essen.
Photo:
THILO SCHMUELGEN / REUTERS
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2/11
Clear winner:
Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia and CDU top candidate Hendrik Wüst is happy about his party's performance.
The Christian Democrats are the clear winners of the election.
In order to remain at the top of the government, however, Wüst has to look for a new coalition partner, because his previous black-yellow alliance lost its majority due to a dramatic slump in the FDP.
Photo: IMAGO/Political Moments
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3/11
Stunned and happy:
The Greens recorded a significant increase in votes and were able to almost triple their 2017 election result.
NRW top candidate Mona Neubaur and Felix Banaszak, Greens chairman in North Rhine-Westphalia, cheer after the first forecasts.
Photo: Friso Gentsch / picture alliance / dpa
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4/11
Fallen deep:
The times when North Rhine-Westphalia was considered an SPD state are long gone.
The Social Democrats have once again undercut the historically poor result of 2017.
For the first time since 1947, the SPD in the federal state has fallen below 30 percent.
Photo: Friso Gentsch / picture alliance / dpa
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5/11
Failed campaign:
Brochures with Thomas Kutschaty's likeness are available in Bonn.
The SPD's top candidate wanted to win back North Rhine-Westphalia for his party - and is now one of the big losers on election night.
Photo: THILO SCHMUELGEN / REUTERS
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6/11
Despondent greeting:
Kuschaty after the first forecasts for the state election at the SPD election party.
“We wanted to be the strongest party.
We didn't succeed,' said Kuchaty.
Unfortunately, the result is not as high as the NRW-SPD had imagined.
But the goal of the black-yellow coalition no longer having a majority has been achieved.
Photo: Federico Gambarini / dpa
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7/11
Bad news:
When it comes to the bad mood, the FDP is probably a bit ahead of the SPD that evening.
A look at the faces at the FDP election party makes it clear how bad the result is.
The proportion of votes is not even half as large as in 2017, and the Liberals only just manage to re-enter the Düsseldorf state parliament.
Photo: Henning Kaiser / picture alliance / dpa
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8/11
Voted out:
So far, the FDP has ruled in Düsseldorf.
Now the Liberals don't even get 6 percent.
Party leader Christian Lindner described the poor election result as a "disastrous defeat".
»Of course we would have wished that the Free Democrats had also benefited from this good government action in the largest federal state.
That's not the case,” said Lindner.
"We have, you have to say, a disastrous defeat tonight."
Photo: Rüdiger Wölk / IMAGO
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9/11
Kingmaker:
When it comes to forming a government in North Rhine-Westphalia, there is probably no way around the Greens.
Top candidate Mona Neubaur sees a clear government mandate for her party.
The party is now likely to play a key role in forming a government.
Photo: IMAGO/Political Moments
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10/11
New distribution of seats:
The CDU has clearly won, but it is still unclear with whom the Christian Democrats will govern in the Düsseldorf state parliament in the future.
Photo: Fabian Strauch / dpa
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11/11
Mirror image:
North Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous federal state.
The election of the Düsseldorf state parliament is considered a small federal election - and an important mood test for the federal government.
The traffic light parties of the federal government cut in North Rhine-Westphalia from mixed.
The SPD and FDP recorded significant losses in votes, while the Greens made strong gains.
Photo: Friso Gentsch / dpa
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