When Germans go to their polling stations – in schools and other public buildings – they have two votes: one for the candidate representing their constituency and the other for the party’s state list, which usually consists of 10 to 30 candidates. There is a list between. This system is often referred to as “personal proportional representation”.
two boxes to tick on the ballot paper
The first vote for the candidate standing directly in the respective electoral district determines half of the total composition of the Parliament, ensuring that each district is represented.
The second vote determines the strength of the parties in the Bundestag, the lower house of parliament, and thus determines how many candidates from that state list will be given seats in the Bundestag.
From 2025, the number of seats in Parliament has been limited to 630 seats. A reform of the electoral system was introduced in 2024, removing provisions that had reduced legislative numbers as parties reduced their size. This reform was partially overturned by the Supreme Court.
voter
About 61 million people out of Germany’s population of 83 million are eligible to vote. These are German citizens aged 18 and over. They can vote in Germany if they have been living in the country for at least the last three months; German citizens living abroad can vote at the German embassy in their country of residence.
The right to vote may be revoked by the court for persons who commit certain political crimes – such as espionage and disclosure of state secrets – but under no circumstances in the case of crimes such as murder, manslaughter and serious sexual abuse of children. No.
The same rules apply to candidates who are put forward by their respective parties.
More than half of the voters are women, about 40% are aged 60 and above, and 14% are under 30.
Voting percentage remains high in Germany. In the last two general elections it has been slightly more than 76%.
5% limit
Under German electoral law, parties must receive at least 5% of the party vote (second vote) to secure representation. This provision was first introduced in 1953 and was intended to prevent small parties troubling the Weimar Republic from entering Parliament and fragmenting it, making it difficult to form a viable majority.
However, an exception is granted to parties that field victorious candidates in at least three electoral districts: winning three individual mandates increases the threshold to five percent for the party concerned. For example, in 2021, this applied to the Left Party, which won only 4.9% of the second-place vote, but was allowed to fill 4.9% of the seats and send 39 delegates because three of its candidates won in their constituencies. .
The second exception is for candidates representing a recognized German minority, such as the Danish in Schleswig-Holstein or the Sorbs in Saxony. 35,000 to 38,000 votes are required to win a constituency, so is the number of votes a representative of a minority party needs to get a seat in the Bundestag. In 2021, Stefan Seidler, a representative of the Danish minority, secured 55,000 votes, securing a seat in parliament.
forming a government and electing a chancellor
If a party secures 50 percent of the votes, it will effectively have representatives to push its agenda. But this is not likely to happen. For this reason, parties in Germany usually need to form a partnership with one or more other parties to form a coalition with enough votes to control the Bundestag.
Traditionally, the candidate of the party receiving the most votes will become Chancellor and the leading candidate of the junior coalition partner is often chosen to become Foreign Minister. The Chancellor presents the names of ministers and their portfolios to the President who appoints the members of the government.
Any German citizen who is at least 18 years of age can become Chancellor. A seat in the Bundestag is not essential, but he (or she) needs to gain the votes of a majority of the legislature.
The basic law, the German Constitution, stipulates that the first session of the new Bundestag must take place within 30 days of the election.
The President officially proposes a candidate to the Chancellor, who then needs to win an absolute majority (50+1) of votes. If the candidate fails to achieve this, Bundestag members can choose and vote for another candidate within a fortnight. Then absolute majority is required.
If no candidate gets absolute majority even in the second round of voting, then the final voting is conducted immediately. Whoever gets the most votes in that round is elected (simple majority).
If the Chancellor is elected by an absolute majority, the Federal President must appoint him or her within seven days. If the elected candidate only wins a simple majority in the third round, the President must either appoint him or her within seven days or dissolve the Bundestag, leading to new elections within 60 days.
contest election results
According to Germany’s election review law, every person eligible to vote in Germany can contest the validity of an election, as well as groups of people eligible to vote. After every general election, there are hundreds of challenges to the results.
Objections must be made in writing to the Election Review Commission with the Bundestag in Berlin within two months of election day.
The Election Review Commission processes all submissions. A decision is made on each individual challenge, and each objector receives a written response from the Bundestag.
To invalidate the results of a Bundestag election, an objection must meet two requirements. First, there must be an election error that violates the Federal Election Act, the Federal Election Code, or the Constitution. Second, the reported electoral error will have an impact on the distribution of seats in the Bundestag.
The Commission needs about a year to process all appeals. Less than four percent of those cases reached the Constitutional Court, with no German national vote ever declared invalid.
Under normal circumstances, elections are held again after four years, and then the situation returns to the same.
This article has been updated to reflect the rules that will apply to the general election in February 2025.