Unterems (electoral district)

53°2′23.996″N 7°25′40.246″E

25 Unterems
Electoral district for the Bundestag
Unterems in 2025
State	Lower Saxony
Population	321,300 (2019)
Electorate	238,506 (2021)
Major settlements	Papenburg Leer Haren
Area	2,597.8 km2
Current electoral district
Created	1980
Party	CDU
Member	Gitta Connemann
Elected	2002, 2005, 2009, 2013, 2017, 2021

Unterems is an electoral constituency (German: Wahlkreis) represented in the Bundestag. It elects one member via first-past-the-post voting. Under the current constituency numbering system, it is designated as constituency 25. It is located in northwestern Lower Saxony, comprising the district of Leer and the northern part of the district of Emsland.^[1]

Unterems was created for the 1980 federal election. Since 2002, it has been represented by Gitta Connemann of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU).^[2]

Geography

Unterems is located in northwestern Lower Saxony. As of the 2021 federal election, it comprises the entirety of the district of Leer and the northern part of the district of Emsland, specifically the municipalities of Haren, Papenburg, Rhede, and Twist and the Samtgemeinden of Dörpen, Lathen, Nordhümmling, Sögel, and Werlte.^[1]

History

Unterems was created in 1980 and contained parts of the abolished constituencies of Emden – Leer and Emsland. Originally, it was constituency 20 in the number system. From the 2002 through 2009 elections, it was constituency 26. Since the 2013 election, it has been constituency 25. Its borders have not changed since its creation.

Members

The constituency has been held by the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) since its creation. Its first representative was Rudolf Seiters, who served from 1980 to 2002. Since 2002, it has been represented by Gitta Connemann.

Election		Member	Party	%
Unterems Constituency created from Emden – Leer and Emsland
	1980	Rudolf Seiters	CDU	51.0
	1983			56.8
	1987			51.3
	1990			56.6
	1994			56.7
	1998			49.4
	2002	Gitta Connemann	CDU	47.4
	2005			47.1
	2009			45.2
	2013			54.7
	2017			50.0
	2021			44.4

Election results

2021 election

Federal election (2021): Unterems[3]
Notes:		Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively.
Party		Candidate		Votes	%	±%	Party votes	%	±%
	CDU	Y Gitta Connemann		77,143	44.4	5.6	52,067	29.9	12.6
	SPD	Anja Troff-Schaffarzyk		49,440	28.5	0.4	59,229	34.0	6.4
	Greens	Julian Pahlke		16,434	9.5	4.7	18,576	10.7	4.8
	AfD	Holger Kühnlenz		13,584	7.8	0.2	14,248	8.2	0.2
	FDP	Ferhat Asi		10,763	6.2	1.8	17,671	10.1	2.3
	Left	Kai Jesiek		4,358	2.5	1.9	4,650	2.7	2.7
	Tierschutzpartei						2,044	1.2	0.5
	PARTEI						1,649	0.9	0.2
	dieBasis	Rafael Gil Brand		1,866	1.1		1,619	0.9
	FW						856	0.5	0.3
	Pirates						534	0.3	0.0
	Volt						334	0.2
	Team Todenhöfer						211	0.1
	The Homeland						161	0.1	0.1
	Independent	Siegfried Balzer		159	0.1
	Humanists						103	0.1
	V-Partei3						97	0.1	0.0
	du.						92	0.1
	ÖDP						58	0.0	0.0
	LKR						31	0.0
	DKP						28	0.0	0.0
	MLPD						18	0.0	0.0
Informal votes				2,079			1,550
Total valid votes				173,747			174,276
Turnout				175,826	73.7	1.2
	CDU hold		Majority	27,703	15.9	6.1

2017 election

Federal election (2017): Unterems[4]
Notes:		Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively.
Party		Candidate		Votes	%	±%	Party votes	%	±%
	CDU	Y Gitta Connemann		87,406	50.0	4.7	74,173	42.4	6.4
	SPD	Markus Paschke[a]		48,959	28.0	3.2	48,194	27.5	3.4
	AfD	Christoph Merkel		13,387	7.7		14,620	8.4	5.4
	Greens	Harald Kleem		8,255	4.7	0.4	10,258	5.9	0.1
	FDP	Marion Terhalle		7,758	4.4	1.8	13,629	7.8	3.8
	Left	Bettina Kubiak		7,726	4.4	0.5	9,459	5.4	1.3
	PARTEI	Marius Wolters		1,298	0.7		1,359	0.8
	Pirates						491	0.3
	Tierschutzpartei						1,185	0.7	0.0
	The Homeland						421	0.2	0.6
	FW						413	0.2	0.2
	BGE						159	0.1
	DiB						147	0.1
	DM						144	0.1
	ÖDP						127	0.1
	V-Partei³						122	0.1
	MLPD						30	0.0	0.0
	DKP						21	0.0
Informal votes				1,553			1,390
Total valid votes				174,789			174,952
Turnout				176,342	75.0	3.2
	CDU hold		Majority	38,447	22.0	1.5

2013 election

Federal election (2013): Unterems[5]
Notes:		Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively.
Party		Candidate		Votes	%	±%	Party votes	%	±%
	CDU	Y Gitta Connemann		90,236	54.7	9.5	80,616	48.8	9.7
	SPD	Markus Paschke		51,409	31.2	1.9	51,079	30.9	3.3
	Greens	Harald Kleem		8,441	5.1	2.3	9,506	5.8	1.8
	Left	Charlotte Lenzen		6,426	3.9	3.5	6,771	4.1	4.7
	FDP	Hans-Michael Goldmann		4,288	1.6	6.9	6,537	4.0	8.8
	AfD						4,870	2.9
	Pirates						2,218	1.3	0.4
	FW	Ingo Tonsor		1,280	1.1		747	0.5
	The Homeland	Albert Wille		1,656	1.0	0.1	1,339	0.8	0.2
	Tierschutzpartei						1,070	0.6	0.1
	Independent	Ralf Lükensmeier		587	0.4
	PBC						281	0.2
	PRO						165	0.1
	REP						91	0.1
	MLPD						24	0.0	0.0
Informal votes				2,096			1,645
Total valid votes				164,863			165,314
Turnout				166,959	71.7	0.5
	CDU hold		Majority	38,827	23.5	7.6

2009 election

Federal election (2009): Unterems[6]
Notes:		Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A Y or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively.
Party		Candidate		Votes	%	±%	Party votes	%	±%
	CDU	Y Gitta Connemann		73,405	45.2	1.9	63,545	39.1	1.4
	SPD	Keno Borde		47,481	29.3	10.5	44,913	27.6	13.5
	FDP	Hans-Michael Goldmann		15,470	9.5	4.8	20,731	12.8	5.0
	Left	Franziska Junker		12,062	7.4	4.2	14,219	8.7	4.7
	Greens	Tammo Lenger		11,981	7.4	3.8	12,222	7.5	3.4
	Pirates						2,899	1.8
	The Homeland	Wilhelm Sudmann		1,862	1.1	0.1	1,707	1.1	0.0
	Tierschutzpartei						1,149	0.7	0.2
	RRP						648	0.4
	ÖDP						304	0.2
	DVU						152	0.1
	MLPD						28	0.0	0.0
Informal votes				2,392			2,136
Total valid votes				162,261			162,517
Turnout				164,653	71.3	6.9
	CDU hold		Majority	25,924	16.0	8.7

Notes

1. Paschke entered the Bundestag on the SPD list after the resignation of Sigmar Gabriel in November 2019.

References

1. "Constituency Unterems". Federal Returning Officer.
2. "Results for Unterems". Federal Returning Officer.
3. Results for Unterems
4. Results for Unterems
5. Results for Unterems
6. Results for Unterems