Parliament & Parties

The German Bundestag is elected every four years by free, secret and direct ballot by citizens aged 18 and over who are eligible to vote. 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 › is the parliament. There are at least 598 seats in 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 › . Of these, half are elected through first votes cast for individuals in 299 constituencies. The rest of the seats are allocated according to second votes from parties’ state lists. An amendment to the electoral law for the 2025 Bundestag election has reduced the individual vote element and increased the list vote element. Of the 630 seats in total that are now available, direct mandates will only be allocated in the 299 constituencies if the seats are covered by the proportion of second votes the party has achieved.
Previously, what are known as “balance seats” and “overhang seats” had meant that the number of MPs was significantly higher of late. There were 733 MPs in the 20th Bundestag. The electoral reform has ensured that the parliament will become smaller again.

The electoral system will continue to make it difficult for any single party to form a government on its own, however - a coalition government is the rule in Germany. To prevent the party landscape from becoming fragmented, which would make the process of forming a government in the Bundestag more complicated, parties must receive at least five percent of the votes cast (five-percent hurdle) in order to obtain seats in the parliament.

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 › occupy a prominent position in Germany. They help shape the political decision-making process and are indispensable for democratic 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 › . For this reason, 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 › acknowledges their constitutional status. If a party seeks to eliminate the free democratic basic order of the Federal Republic, the Federal Constitutional Court The Federal Constitutional Court The Federal Constitutional Court is a characteristic institution of post-war German democracy. The Basic Law accorded it the right to repeal legislation passed as part of the legitimate democratic process should it come to the conclusion that such legislation contravenes the Basic Law. The… Read more › may ban that party. However, the barriers to this are very high.

The 20th German Bundestag is made up of 733 representatives of eight parties: SPD, CDU, CSU, FDP, Alliance 90/The Greens, The Left, AfD and the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW). The BSW sits in parliament as a group because Wagenknecht left the party The Left during the electoral term and formed the new alliance together with other MPs in January 2024. Since the first Bundestag elections in 1949, the CDU have formed a joint party with their sister party the CSU, which only stands for election in Bavaria Bavaria The “beer state” of Bavaria also produces fine wine in the Franconia region. The Oktoberfest, Neuschwanstein Castle and the magnificent Alpine scenery attract more foreign tourists than does any other federal state. Yet the slogan “Laptop and Lederhose” demonstrates that there is more to Bavaria… Read more › .