Broad Participation

Political parties are acknowledged as having a crucial and privileged position in the political system of the Federal Republic of Germany. Article 21 of the Basic Law The Basic Law The Basic Law determines that Germany is a constitutional state: All state authorities are subject to judicial control. Section 1 of the Basic Law is of particular relevance. It stipulates that respect for human dignity is the most important aspect of the constitution: “Human dignity shall be… Read more › states that “ political parties Political parties According to the Basic Law it is the task of the political parties to participate in political will formation by the people. As such, putting forward candidates for political office and the organization of election campaigns both have the status of constitutional tasks. For this reason the parties… Read more › shall participate in the formation of the political will of the people.” This entails an obligation to uphold their own internal democracy: committees, chairpersons and candidates are elected in secret ballots by delegates of the party membership at party conferences. More recently, parties have directly polled their members on significant decisions as a means of reinforcing their internal democratic processes.

Citizens can get actively involved in politics by joining parties. They also have the right to stand for election to political office. A person wishing to be a member of the Bundestag The Bundestag The Bundestag is made up of the elected representatives of the German people. In principle elections to the Bundestag are proportionally representative, with each party’s share of the vote in the election reflecting the number of seats it occupies in the parliament. But the electoral system also… Read more › must be at least 18 years old and have German citizenship. MPs are almost always party members, though membership of a party is not a requirement to stand for election.

All citizens in Germany who are eligible to vote have the chance to help determine the country’s political direction by taking advantage of their direct right to vote. All Germans aged 18 or above can vote in Bundestag elections Elections Every four years, the parties stand in the general elections to the Bundestag. Traditionally, the turn-out is high in Germany, and following a high in the 1970s, when the turn-out was over 90 percent, since reunification it has been around 80 percent. 76.6 per cent of eligible voters took part… Read more › , whereas citizens from other EU countries are only allowed to vote in local and regional elections.

Turnout rates for Bundestag elections are declining. While elections in the 1970s and 1980s saw consistently high voter turnout (91.1 percent in 1972), the Bundestag elections in 2017 and 2021 achieved rates of only 76.2 and 76.6 percent respectively. By far the highest increase in voter turnout in 2021 was recorded in the 21- to 29-year-old demographic, at 3.9  percentage points.

However, opportunities to participate through civil society initiatives and non-governmental organisations are often more attractive for young people. Social media are becoming more important as platforms for expressing political views and engaging in political action. Voters can also participate in the political process through democratic processes such as referendums. Opportunities for direct democracy are increasingly offered at state and municipal level, and citizens are making great use of these.

“Citizens’ councils” are also growing in importance as a means of involving members of the public in decision-making processes. These councils are generally concerned with specific concrete issues where they make recommendations to political leaders. Governments and parties also seek to enter into conversations with people. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock initiated citizens’ dialogues when drawing up the first “National Security Strategy”, for example.