elections in germany

Elections in Germany gives information on election and election results in Germany, including elections to the Federal Diet (the lower house of the federal parliament), the Landtage of the various states, and local elections.

Federal elections

Germany elects on federal level a legislature. The parliament has two chambers. The Federal Diet (Bundestag) has 603 members, elected for a four year term, 299 members elected in single-seat constituencies according to first-past-the-post, while a further 299 members are allocated from statewide party lists to achieve a proportional distribution in the legislature, conducted according to a system of proportional representation called the additional member system. 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. Germany has a multi-party system, with two strong parties and some other third parties that are electorally successful. Elections are conducted every 4 years, with the exact date of the election chosen by the outgoing government. The Bundestag can be dismissed and a new election called before the four year period has ended, but this usually only occurs in the case of a government losing its majority. The next federal election is due some time in the fall of 2006. Early in 2004, speculation was rife that CDU victories at the state level would give them a blocking supermajority in the Bundesrat and force SPD chancellor Gerhard Schrder to call an early election, but this has begun to look less likely. German nationals over the age of 18 are eligible to vote, including most Germans resident outside Germany, and eligibility for candidacy is essentially the same as eligibility to vote. The Federal Council (Bundesrat) has 69 members representing the governments of the states.

Federal election results

State elections

State elections are conducted under various rules set by the Lnder. In general they are conducted according to some form of party list proportional repesentation, 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.