Federal election 2025: This is how the electoral system works in Germany

The 2025 federal election will take place on February 23rd. That Sunday, voters in Germany will vote on their new parliament. However, a lot has changed compared to previous elections – for example, there are fewer seats in the Bundestag in Berlin. Some other rules have also been changed. This is all you need to know:

All people who have German citizenship and are 18 years of age or older on the day of the election have the right to elect the new Bundestag. Unlike the 2024 European elections, only adults are still allowed to cast their votes.

The voting notification will be sent automatically: This will indicate which polling station you should vote at and where it is located. By the way, it is enough to show up there with an ID card or passport. You don’t necessarily have to take the voting notification with you.

If you don’t have time on election day – for example because of vacation – or if you want to save yourself a trip to the polling station for other reasons, you can vote by postal vote beforehand.

To vote by post, you need a voting slip, which you must apply for at the local authority office of your main place of residence – this can usually be done online. A form for this is also included with the election notification.

However, the time for voting by postal vote is tighter this time than in the last regular election in 2021. The reason is that the election had to be brought forward after the traffic light coalition broke. That’s why shortened deadlines apply this time.

“You must apply for, fill out and return your postal voting documents to your municipality more quickly,” emphasizes the authority of Federal Returning Officer Ruth Brandt. There was probably only two weeks left for postal voting. Because of deadlines for the approval of election candidates, ballot papers could only be printed and sent after January 30th. According to Brandt’s authority, most election offices are preparing for postal voting to begin between February 6th and 10th.

The voting letters must be received by the responsible office by voting day on February 23rd at 6 p.m. in order to be valid. Deutsche Post has assured that election letters that are posted or delivered to a post office by February 20, 2025, before the mailbox is last emptied, will reach the responsible voting office in a timely manner. If you want to be on the safe side, you can also hand in the voting letter directly to the office printed on the envelope.

With the first vote you directly elect a candidate who will run in the corresponding constituency. Most of the time he belongs to a party that has chosen the candidate in advance. Anyone who wants to run as an individual must collect at least 200 signatures from eligible voters in the constituency.

For the second vote, entire parties are available to choose from. The nationwide share of these votes determines how well a party is later represented in parliament.

No, there is no legal requirement to vote in Germany. Participation in the federal election is voluntary and a democratic right. According to the German view, compulsory voting would run counter to freedom of choice. The situation is different in countries such as Belgium, Greece, Luxembourg and Cyprus. There, people who do not vote without a good reason can be fined.

Five electoral principles are essential for democratic elections in Germany. They are:

However, the last principle is criticized because in some cases people with disabilities need support and therefore cannot always make their voting decision completely unobserved, which calls the principle of secrecy into question.

In early federal elections, many important deadlines, for example for registering candidates or parties, cannot be met. Therefore, the Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI) is allowed to shorten the deadlines and dates in accordance with Section 52 Paragraph 3 of the Federal Election Act. The BMI does not need approval from the Federal Council for this, but can regulate this itself via regulation.

According to the Basic Law, federal elections must take place between 46 and 48 months after the start of the electoral period. This gives some leeway and the election can take place at a different time of the year in the future.

The new Bundestag will be significantly smaller due to a reform: the number of mandates has been limited to 630 – around 100 fewer than currently. The so-called overhang and compensatory mandates, which previously often led to a greatly enlarged parliament, will no longer apply. Now candidates who are directly elected with a first vote only enter the Bundestag if their party also has enough second votes.

Here’s an example of a simple calculation: If a party wins 50 direct mandates in a federal state, but according to the second vote result it is only entitled to 48 mandates, then the two direct candidates with the worst first vote results leave empty-handed. Their constituencies are then not represented by their own representatives in parliament.

In the federal election, the Chancellor is not elected directly, but by the members of Parliament. This vote is one of the most important tasks of the newly elected representatives. And this election will take place when the future government parties have reached an agreement in the coalition negotiations.

In addition to the CDU/CSU, SPD and Greens, the AfD and the BSW have nominated their candidates for chancellor for the 2025 federal election. This means that for the first time five candidates for chancellor will be running for their parties in this election. However, not all of them have any chance of becoming chancellor.