The incumbent Social Democratic Party (SPD) minority government led by Minister-President Reinhard Höppner was defeated.

The SPD fell to third place, while the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) moved into first.

After both the 1994 and 1998 state elections, the SPD formed a minority government with the external support of the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS).

This marked the first time the PDS had been involved in determining government in a German state, and was a unique arrangement, dubbed the "Magdeburg model" after the capital of Saxony-Anhalt.

This came after internal strife and the secession of the Freedom and Democracy People's Party (FDVP), which did run in the election.