2022 Rhinean presidential election

Presidential elections were held in Rhinea on 26 May and 9 June 2022, determining the successor to Armin Laschet, who chose not to run for a second term. Friedrich Merz, the Christian Union candidate, emerged victorious in the second round after securing a decisive victory over Frans Timmermans, the Social Democratic Party candidate.
==Electoral system==
The Rhinean presidential election employs a two-round system. If no candidate secures a majority in the first round, a runoff election is held between the two top candidates.
==First round==
===Campaigns===
The campaign for the 2022 Rhinean presidential election was characterized by a sharp focus on economic issues, with the ongoing economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and the global energy crisis taking center stage. 
The Christian Union and Centre Party held primaries to determine their candidates. Friedrich Merz won the Christian Union primary with 62.5% of the votes, while Christian Lindner won the Centre Party primary with 54.9% of the votes. Frans Timmermans and the other candidates were chosen by their respective parties' leadership.
===Primaries===
Christian Union primary	Christian Union primary	Christian Union primary	Christian Union primary
 	 	 	
Friedrich Merz 	Wopke Hoekstra 	Hendrik Wüst 	Norbert Röttgen
39.1% 	31.0% 	22.6% 	7.3%
62.5% 	37.5% 	Eliminated 	Eliminated
Centre Party primary	Centre Party primary	Centre Party primary	Centre Party primary 	Centre Party primary
 	 	 	 	
Christian Lindner 	Klaas Dijkhoff 	Christian Dürr 	Bettina Stark-Watzinger	Egbert Lachaert
30.4% 	34.2% 	18.4% 	12.5% 	4.5%
54.9% 	45.1% 	Eliminated 	Eliminated 	Eliminated
====Candidates====
File:Hubert Aiwanger.png|Hubert Aiwanger
File:Annalena Baerbock.png|Annalena Baerbock
File:Dietmar Bartsch.png|Dietmar Bartsch
File:Sigrid Kaag.png|Sigrid Kaag
File:Christian Lindner.png|Christian Lindner
File:Friedrich Merz.png|Friedrich Merz
File:Frans Timmermans.png|Frans Timmermans
File:Geert Wilders.png|Geert Wilders
==Results==
Friedrich Merz was elected with 55.47% of the vote to 44.53% for Timmermans in the second round of the election.
Summary of the election results
Candidate	Candidate 	Party 	1st round 	1st round	2nd round 	2nd round
Candidate	Candidate 	Party 	Votes 	% 	Votes 	%
 	Friedrich Merz 	Christian Union 	21,309,115	33.08 	33,489,049	55.47
 	Frans Timmermans 	Social Democratic Party	16,069,374	24.95 	26,882,966	44.53
 	Annalena Baerbock	The Greens 	11,096,006	17.23 	Eliminated	Eliminated
 	Christian Lindner	Centre Party 	7,436,515 	11.54 	Eliminated	Eliminated
 	Geert Wilders 	Patriotic Front 	5,085,490 	7.89 	Eliminated	Eliminated
 	Sigrid Kaag 	Forward 	1,594,204 	2.47 	Eliminated	Eliminated
 	Dietmar Bartsch 	The Left 	1,086,495 	1.68 	Eliminated	Eliminated
 	Hubert Aiwanger 	Free Voters 	786,227 	1.22 	Eliminated	Eliminated
Category:Rhinea
Category:Elections