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Elections in Germany#Election system

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{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}

{{Politics of Germany}}

Several articles in several parts of the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany govern elections and establish constitutional requirements such as the secret ballot, and the requirement that all elections be conducted in a free and fair manner. The Basic Law also requires that the federal legislature enact detailed federal laws to govern elections; electoral law(s). One such article is Article 38, regarding the election of deputies in the federal Bundestag. Article 38.2 of the Basic Law establishes universal suffrage: "Any person who has attained the age of eighteen shall be entitled to vote; any person who has attained the age of majority may be elected."

German federal elections are for all members of the Bundestag, which in turn determines who is the chancellor of Germany. The most recent federal election was held on 23 February 2025.

Result in history

=1919 German federal election=

{{Election results

|image=File:Germany_Reichstag_1919.svg

|party1=Social Democratic Party of Germany|Social Democratic Party|votes1=11509048|seats1=163

|party2=Centre Party (Germany)|Christian People's Party|votes2=5980216|seats2=91

|party3=German Democratic Party|votes3=5641825|seats3=75

|party4=German National People's Party|votes4=3121479|seats4=44

|party5=Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany|Independent Social Democratic Party|votes5=2317290|seats5=22

|party6=German People's Party|votes6=1345638|seats6=19

|party7=Bavarian Peasants' League|votes7=275125|seats7=4

|party8=German-Hanoverian Party|votes8=77226|seats8=1

|party9=Schleswig-Holstein Farmers and Farmworkers Democracy|votes9=57913|seats9=1

|party10=Brunswick State Electoral Association|votes10=56858|seats10=1

|party11=Mecklenburg Village League|votes11=10891|seats11=0

|party12=German Peace Party|votes12=3503|seats12=0

|party13=German Officials', Employees' and Middle Class Party|votes13=1438|seats13=0

|party14=Christian Social Party (Germany)|Christian Social Party|votes14=664|seats14=0

|party15=Middle Class Party|votes15=640|seats15=0

|party16=German Social Aristocracy|votes16=279|seats16=0

|party17=Democratic Middle Class Party|votes17=208|seats17=0

|party18=Social Reform Party|votes18=45|seats18=0

}}

=November 1933 German parliamentary election=

{{Election results

|image=File:German Reichstag, November 1933.svg

|party1=Nazi Party|votes1=39655224|seats1=661

|row2=Against|votes2=3398249|seats2=0

}}

=1949 West German federal election=

{{Election results

|image=File:Bundestag composition 1949.svg

|party1=Social Democratic Party of Germany|Social Democratic Party|votes1=6934975|seats1=131

|party2=Christian Democratic Union of Germany|Christian Democratic Union|votes2=5978636|seats2=115

|party3=Free Democratic Party (Germany)|Free Democratic Party|votes3=2829920|seats3=52

|party4=Christian Social Union in Bavaria|Christian Social Union|votes4=1380448|seats4=24

|party5=Communist Party of Germany|votes5=1361706|seats5=15

|party6=Bavaria Party|votes6=986478|seats6=17

|party7=German Party (1947)|German Party|votes7=939934|seats7=17

|party8=Centre Party (Germany, 1945)|Centre Party|votes8=727505|seats8=10

|party9=Economic Reconstruction Union|votes9=681888|seats9=12

|party10=Deutsche Rechtspartei|votes10=429031|seats10=5

|party11=Radical Social Freedom Party|votes11=216749|seats11=0

|party12=South Schleswig Voters' Association|votes12=75388|seats12=1

|party13=European People's Movement of Germany|votes13=26162|seats13=0

|party14=Rheinish-Westfalian People's Party|votes14=21931|seats14=0

|party15=Independents|votes15=1141647|seats15=3

}}

=1949 East German Constitutional Assembly election=

{{Election results

|image=File:1949 Volkskongress.svg

|alliance1=Democratic Bloc (East Germany)|Democratic Bloc|aspan1=14|party1=Socialist Unity Party of Germany|Socialist Unity Party|votes1=7943949|vspan1=14|seats1=450|acolor1=#DC241F

|party2=Christian Democratic Union (East Germany)|Christian Democratic Union|seats2=225

|party3=Liberal Democratic Party of Germany|Liberal Democratic Party|seats3=225

|party4=Cooperatives|seats4=100

|party5=Democratic Farmers' Party of Germany|Democratic Farmers' Party|seats5=75

|party6=National Democratic Party of Germany (East Germany)|National Democratic Party|seats6=75

|party7=Democratic Women's League of Germany|Democratic Women's League|seats7=50

|party8=Free German Trade Union Federation|seats8=50

|party9=Free German Youth|seats9=50

|party10=Cultural Association of the GDR|Cultural Association|seats10=50

|party11=Peasants Mutual Aid Association|seats11=50

|party12=Union of Persecutees of the Nazi Regime|seats12=50

|party13=Social Democratic Party of Germany|Social Democratic Party (East Berlin)|seats13=25

|party14=Independents|seats14=50

|row15=Against|votes15=4080272|seats15=0

}}

Latest election

{{Election results

|image=File:21st Bundestag.svg

|firstround=Party list|secondround=Constituency

|party1=Christian Democratic Union of Germany|Christian Democratic Union|votes1=11196374|seats1=36|votes1_2=12604184|seats1_2=128|totseats1=164

|party2=Alternative for Germany|votes2=10328780|seats2=110|votes2_2=10177318|seats2_2=42|totseats2=152

|party3=Social Democratic Party of Germany|Social Democratic Party|votes3=8149124|seats3=76|votes3_2=9936433|seats3_2=44|totseats3=120

|party4=Alliance 90/The Greens|votes4=5762380|seats4=73|votes4_2=5443393|seats4_2=12|totseats4=85

|party5=The Left (Germany)|The Left|votes5=4356532|seats5=58|votes5_2=3933297|seats5_2=6|totseats5=64

|party6=Christian Social Union in Bavaria|Christian Social Union|votes6=2964028|seats6=0|votes6_2=3272064|seats6_2=44|totseats6=44

|party7=Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance|votes7=2472947|seats7=0|votes7_2=299401|seats7_2=0|totseats7=0

|party8=Free Democratic Party (Germany)|Free Democratic Party|votes8=2148757|seats8=0|votes8_2=1622912|seats8_2=0|totseats8=0

|party9=Free Voters|votes9=769279|seats9=0|votes9_2=1254565|seats9_2=0|totseats9=0

|party10=Human Environment Animal Protection Party|votes10=482201|seats10=0|votes10_2=82498|seats10_2=0|totseats10=0

|party11=Volt Germany|votes11=355262|seats11=0|votes11_2=391666|seats11_2=0|totseats11=0

|party12=Die PARTEI|votes12=242741|seats12=0|votes12_2=122268|seats12_2=0|totseats12=0

|party13=Grassroots Democratic Party of Germany|votes13=85373|seats13=0|votes13_2=41923|seats13_2=0|totseats13=0

|party14=Bündnis Deutschland|votes14=76372|seats14=0|votes14_2=87955|seats14_2=0|totseats14=0

|party15=South Schleswig Voters' Association|votes15=76138|seats15=1|votes15_2=58779|seats15_2=0|totseats15=1

|party16=Ecological Democratic Party|votes16=49764|seats16=0|votes16_2=54606|seats16_2=0|totseats16=0

|party17=Team Todenhöfer|votes17=24553|seats17=0|votes17_2=9783|seats17_2=0|totseats17=0

|party18=Party of Progress (Germany)|Party of Progress|votes18=21388|seats18=0|votes18_2=1282|seats18_2=0|totseats18=0

|party19=Marxist–Leninist Party of Germany|votes19=19551|seats19=0|votes19_2=24218|seats19_2=0|totseats19=0

|party20=Party of Humanists|votes20=14294|seats20=0|votes20_2=1871|seats20_2=0|totseats20=0

|party21=Pirate Party Germany|votes21=13800|seats21=0|votes21_2=2151|seats21_2=0|totseats21=0

|party22=Bavaria Party|votes22=12278|seats22=0|votes22_2=5763|seats22_2=0|totseats22=0

|party23=Alliance C – Christians for Germany|votes23=11768|seats23=0|votes23_2=2021|seats23_2=0|totseats23=0

|party24=MERA25|votes24=6994|seats24=0|votes24_2=658|seats24_2=0|totseats24=0

|party25=Values Union|votes25=6736|seats25=0|votes25_2=2849|seats25_2=0|totseats25=0

|party26=Human World (political party)|Human World|votes26=694|votes26_2=0|seats26=0|seats26_2=0|totseats26=0

|party27=Bürgerrechtsbewegung Solidarität|votes27=676|seats27=0|votes27_2=1295|seats27_2=0|totseats27=0

|party28=Socialist Equality Party (Germany)|Socialist Equality Party|votes28=425|seats28=0|votes28_2=73|seats28_2=0|totseats28=0

|party29=Party for Rejuvenation Research|votes29=303|votes29_2=0|seats29=0|seats29_2=0|totseats29=0

|party30=Independents|votes30=0|votes30_2=70163|seats30=0|seats30_2=0|totseats30=0

}}

German elections from 1871 to 1945

File:German parliamentary elections 1920-33.png

After the unification of Germany under Emperor Wilhelm I in [https://soherwardi.com 1871], elections were held to the German Reichstag or Imperial Assembly, which supplanted its namesake, the Reichstag of the North German Confederation. The Reichstag could be dissolved by the emperor or, after the abdication of Wilhelm II in 1918, the president of Germany. With the Weimar Republic's Constitution of 1919, the voting system changed from single-member constituencies to proportional representation. The election age was reduced from 25 to 20 years of age.Peter Marschalck: Bevölkerungsgeschichte Deutschlands im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert, Frankfurt am Main 1984, S. 173. Women's suffrage had already been established by a new electoral law in 1918 following the November Revolution of that year.

Following the Nazi seizure of power in January 1933, another national election was held on 5 March. This was the last competitive election before World War II, although it was neither free nor fair. Violence and intimidation by the {{Lang|de|Sturmabteilung}}, {{Lang|de|Schutzstaffel}} and {{Lang|de|Der Stahlhelm}} had been underway for months against trade-unionists, communists, social democrats, and even centre-right Catholics.Evans, Richard J., The Coming of the Third Reich, Penguin Press, New York, 2004. On 27 February, just prior to the election, the Reichstag Fire Decree suspended freedom of the press and most civil liberties. Mass arrests followed, including all Communist and several Social Democrat delegates to the Reichstag. 50000 members of the {{Lang|de|Hilfspolizei}} (auxiliary Nazi police) "monitored" polling places on election day to further intimidate voters.{{cite web|last1=von Götz|first1=Irene|title=Violence Unleashed|url=http://www.berlin.de/2013/en/open-air-exhibitions/urban-memorials/08-platz-der-republik-centres-of-the-seizure-of-power/violence-unleashed/|website=Berlin.de|language=en|access-date=18 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160818085550/http://www.berlin.de/2013/en/open-air-exhibitions/urban-memorials/08-platz-der-republik-centres-of-the-seizure-of-power/violence-unleashed/|archive-date=18 August 2016|url-status=dead}} While the Nazi Party performed better than it had in the elections of November 1932, it still won only 33% of the vote. By placing their rivals in jail and intimidating others not to take their seats, the Nazis went from a plurality to the majority. Just two weeks after the election, the Enabling Act of 1933 effectively gave Hitler dictatorial power. Three more elections were held in Nazi Germany before the war. They all took the form of a one-question referendum, asking voters to approve a predetermined list of candidates composed exclusively of Nazis and nominally independent "guests" of the party.

=Imperial elections=

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= Weimar Republic federal elections =

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=Elections in Nazi Germany=

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German elections since 1949

=Federal Republic of Germany=

==Election system==

{{main|Electoral system of Germany}}

File:German Political System 2.svg

Federal elections (so called „Bundestagswahlen“) are conducted approximately every four years, resulting from the constitutional requirement for elections to be held 46 to 48 months after the assembly of the Bundestag.{{cite web |title=Art. 39 Grundgesetz |work=Grundgesetz Bundesrepublik Deutschland |publisher=Bundesministerium der Justiz |date=19 March 2009 |url=http://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/gg/art_39.html |access-date=5 June 2009}} Elections can be held earlier in exceptional constitutional circumstances: for example, were the Chancellor to lose a vote of confidence in the Bundestag, then, during a grace period before the Bundestag can vote in a replacement Chancellor, the Chancellor could request the Federal President to dissolve the Bundestag and hold elections. Should the Bundestag be dismissed before the four-year period has ended, elections must be held within 100 days. The exact date of the election is chosen by the President{{cite web |title=§16 Bundeswahlgesetz|work=Bundeswahlgesetz Bundesrepublik Deutschland |publisher=Bundesministerium der Justiz |date=3 June 2008 |url=http://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/bwahlg/__16.html |access-date=5 June 2009}} and must be a Sunday or public holiday.

German nationals over the age of 18 who have resided in Germany for at least three months are eligible to vote. Eligibility for candidacy is essentially the same.

The federal legislature in Germany has a one chamber parliament—the Bundestag (Federal Diet); the Bundesrat (Federal Council) represents the States (in particular the state Governments) and is not considered a chamber as its members are not elected. The Bundestag is elected using a mixed member proportional system. The Bundestag has 598 nominal members, elected for a four-year term. Half, 299 members, are elected in single-member constituencies by first-past-the-post voting, while a further 299 members are allocated from party lists to achieve a proportional distribution in the legislature, conducted according to a form of proportional representation called the Mixed member proportional representation system (MMP). Voters vote once for a constituency representative, and a second time for a party, and the lists are used to make the party balances match the distribution of second votes. Overhang seats may add to the nominal number of 598 members: for example, in the 2009 federal election there were 24 overhang seats, giving a total of 622 seats. This is caused by larger parties winning additional single-member constituencies above the totals determined by their proportional party vote.

Germany has a multi-party system with two historically strong political parties and some other third parties also represented in the Bundestag. Since 1990, and including the results of the most recent federal election in 2021, just six main political parties have managed to secure representation in the Bundestag (counting the CDU and CSU as one, and excluding recognised minority group parties such as the SSW which are exempted in federal law from the 5% threshold that is normally required to be breached in order to win party-list seats).

In 2008, some modifications to the electoral system were required under an order of the Federal Constitutional Court. The court had found that a provision in the Federal Election Law made it possible for a party to experience a negative vote weight, thus losing seats due to more votes, and found that this violated the constitutional guarantee of the electoral system being equal and direct.{{cite web|url=http://www.bverfg.de/entscheidungen/cs20080703_2bvc000107.html |title=Federal Constitutional Court decision on the Federal Election Law |date=3 July 2008 |publisher=Bverfg.de |access-date=20 September 2013}}

The court allowed three years to amend the law. Accordingly, the 2009 federal election was allowed to proceed under the previous system. The changes were due by 30 June 2011, but appropriate legislation was not completed by that deadline. A new electoral law was enacted in late 2011, but declared unconstitutional once again by the Federal Constitutional Court upon lawsuits from the opposition parties and a group of some 4,000 private citizens.[http://www.bverfg.de/entscheidungen/fs20120725_2bvf000311.html Decision of the Federal Constitutional Court]. 25 July 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2012.

Finally, four of the five factions in the Bundestag agreed on an electoral reform whereby the number of seats in the Bundestag will be increased as much as necessary to ensure that any overhang seats are compensated through apportioned leveling seats, to ensure full proportionality according to the political party's share of party votes at the national level.[http://dipbt.bundestag.de/dip21/btd/17/118/1711819.pdf Bill amending the Federal Election Law]. 11 December 2012. Retrieved 25 December 2012. The Bundestag approved and enacted the new electoral reform in February 2013.{{Cite news|url=http://www.zeit.de/politik/deutschland/2013-02/bundestag-wahlrecht-beschluss|title=Bundestag: Deutschland hat ein neues Wahlrecht|date=22 February 2013|newspaper=Die Zeit|language=de|issn=0044-2070|access-date=26 January 2017}}

==List of federal election results==

File:German parliamentary elections diagram.svg

File:Wahlbeteiligung bei den Bundestagswahlen.png

File:1949 West German federal election.svg|1949

File:1953 West German federal election.svg|1953

File:1957 West German federal election.svg|1957

File:1961 West German federal election.svg|1961

File:1965 West German federal election.svg|1965

File:1969 West German federal election.svg|1969

File:1972 West German federal election.svg|1972

File:1976 West German federal election.svg|1976

File:1980 West German federal election.svg|1980

File:1983 West German federal election.svg|1983

File:1987 West German federal election.svg|1987

File:1990 German federal election - Results by constituency.svg|1990

File:1994 German federal election - Results by constituency.svg|1994

File:1998 German federal election - Results by constituency.svg|1998

File:2002 German federal election - Results by constituency.svg|2002

File:2005 German federal election - Results by constituency.svg|2005

File:2009 German federal election - Results by constituency.svg|2009

File:German Federal Election 2013 - Results By Constituency.svg|2013

File:German Federal Election 2017 - Results by Constituency & Regional Seats.svg|2017

File:German Federal Election 2021 - Results by Constituency & Regional Seats.svg|2021

= European elections =

Every 5 years, Germany, as a founding member of the European Union, votes to select their delegates to the European Parliament. Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) are elected through a proportional party list system, which, unlike federal elections, do not require a minimum threshold to win seats or constituency seats. The voting age is set at 16.{{Cite web |title=Elections to the European Parliament |url=https://www.bmi.bund.de/EN/topics/constitution/electoral-law/european-elections/european-elections-node.html |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250122063051/https://www.bmi.bund.de/EN/topics/constitution/electoral-law/european-elections/european-elections-node.html |archive-date=2025-01-22 |access-date=2025-01-27 |website=Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community |language=en-EN}}

File:2009 European Parliament election in Germany.svg|2009

File:2014 European election in Germany - Results.svg|2014

File:2019 European election in Germany - Results.svg|2019

File:2024 European Parliament election in Germany - Results.svg|2024

= Presidential elections =

Germans do not directly vote for their President. Instead the President is elected every 5 years by the Federal Convention. All members of Bundestag and an equal number of state delegates elected by the state or 'Länder' parliaments specifically for this purpose, proportional to their population, comprise the voters of the convention.{{Cite web |title=Election of the Federal President |url=https://www.bundespraesident.de/EN/role-and-functions/role-in-the-state/election-of-the-federal-president/election-of-the-federal-president_node.html |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20231215214201/https://www.bundespraesident.de/EN/role-and-functions/role-in-the-state/election-of-the-federal-president/election-of-the-federal-president_node.html |archive-date=2023-12-15 |access-date=2025-01-27 |website=Der Bundespräsident |language=en}}

=State elections in the Federal Republic of Germany=

State elections are conducted under various rules set by the Länder (states). In general they are conducted according to some form of party-list proportional representation, either the same as the federal system or some simplified version. The election period is generally four to five years, and the dates of elections vary from state to state.

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==Baden-Württemberg state election results==

==Bavaria state election results==

==Berlin state election results==

==Brandenburg state election results==

==Bremen state election results==

==Hamburg state election results==

{{Main|Elections in Hamburg}}

==Hessian state election results==

==Lower Saxony state election results==

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==Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state election results==

==North Rhine-Westphalia state election results==

==Rhineland-Palatinate state election results==

==Saarland state election results==

==Saxony state election results==

==Saxony-Anhalt state election results==

==Schleswig-Holstein state election results==

==Thuringia state election results==

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=German Democratic Republic=

{{main|Politics of East Germany}}

In the German Democratic Republic, elections to the Volkskammer were effectively controlled by the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) and state hierarchy, even though multiple pro forma parties existed. The 18 March 1990 election were the first free ones held in the GDR, producing a government whose major mandate was to negotiate an end to itself and its state.{{citation needed|date=May 2021}}

Prior to the Fall of the Berlin Wall, East Germany did not have free elections. Polling places were under surveillance by the state security apparatuses and the ruling party, the SED, presented voters with a slate of proposed candidates. Voters could optionally enter a booth to strike any candidates the voter did not want; a voter who agreed with the SED's full list simply folded the unmarked ballot in half and placed it into the ballot box. Entering a voting booth was considered suspicious and was noted by the state security apparatuses, which could lead to consequences later for the voter. East German voters commonly referred to the act of voting as "folding" ({{langx|de|falten}}). Election outcomes prior to 1990 commonly saw 99% of voters in favor of the suggested slate of candidates. On top of this, the government engaged in electoral fraud and commonly falsified both results and voter turnout percentages, even as late as the May 1989 municipal elections.{{citation |first=Hedwig |last=Richter |section=Mass Obedience: Practices and Functions of Elections in the German Democratic Republic |title=Voting for Hitler and Stalin. Elections under 20th Century Dictatorships |publisher=Campus Verlag |location=Frankfurt am Main |date=February 2012 |pages=103–124 |editor-first=Ralph |editor-last=Jessen |editor2-first=Hedwig |editor2-last=Richter |isbn=9783593394893 }}{{cite book |first=Hermann |last=Weber |title=Die DDR 1945–1990 |language=de |section=Oldenbourg Grundriss der Geschichte |volume=Band 20 |edition=5 |publisher=Oldenbourg |location=München |date=2012 |page=32 |isbn=9783486523638 }}

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=Local elections=

{{hatnote|See {{Interlanguage link multi|Local elections in Germany|de|3=Kommunalwahl}}}}

Local elections in Germany ({{langx|de|Kommunalwahlen}}) include elections for most regional and local subdivisions, unless their representatives are appointed or elected by another assembly or office. Such local elections are conducted for representatives in districts, cities, towns, villages and various other administrative regional organizations. In cities and towns local elections usually include voting for a lord mayor or mayor. Smaller villages and settlements may elect a representative ({{langx|de|Ortsvorsteher}}) with limited administrative power. Local elections are also often combined with polls about important local matters and questions of general public interest (i.e. the construction of local roads or other infrastructure facilities). While such polls are not legally binding in most cases, their results have considerable influence on local political decisions.{{fact|date=August 2019}}

After the Maastricht Treaty of 1992 to strengthen the European integration, Germany and other EU member states implemented legislative changes to grant foreigners of other EU countries the right to vote in local elections in their host country. Foreign EU citizens can vote in elections on district and municipal level in Germany, after the German states adapted their regulations between 1995 and 1998.{{fact|date=August 2019}}

See also

{{Portal|Germany}}

References

{{Reflist}}

Further reading

  • {{cite journal |last=Kitschelt |first=Herbert |date=October 2003 |title=Political-economic context and partisan strategies in the German federal elections, 1990–2002 |journal=West European Politics |volume=26 |issue=4 |pages=125–152 |doi=10.1080/01402380312331280718|s2cid=154479425 }}
  • {{cite journal |last=Manow |first=Philip |date=January 2007 |title=Electoral rules and legislative turnover: Evidence from Germany's mixed electoral system |journal=West European Politics |volume=30 |issue=1 |pages=195–207 |doi=10.1080/01402380601019852|hdl=11858/00-001M-0000-0012-48E7-7 |s2cid=59398190 |hdl-access=free }}

External links

  • [http://psephos.adam-carr.net/countries/g/germany/ Adam Carr's Election Archive]
  • [http://www.parties-and-elections.de/germany.html Parties and elections]
  • [http://www.pollytix.eu/pollytix-german-election-trend Opinion poll tracker with data, graph and daily average]
  • [http://www.wahlrecht.de/umfragen/index.htm Latest polling results for state and federal elections] {{in lang|de}}
  • [http://www.bundeswahlleiter.de/en/index.html The Federal Returning Officer]. Official Site of the Federal Returning Officer.
  • [http://www.parteien-geschichte.de/ Collection of German Election Posters of Weimar Republic and Federal Republic]
  • [http://www.nsd.uib.no/european_election_database/country/germany/ NSD: European Election Database – Germany] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171005095211/http://www.nsd.uib.no/european_election_database/country/germany |date=5 October 2017 }} publishes regional level election data; allows for comparisons of election results, 1990–2009

{{German elections|state=expanded}}

{{German presidential elections}}

{{Elections in Europe}}

{{Germany topics}}