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2021 Bundestag elections

Mögliche Regierungspartner: Lindner, Baerbock und Scholz
The SPD, Greens and FDP want to form a government
Germany looks set to have a new government before Christmas: The SPD, Greens and FDP are beginning coalition negotiations.
Blick in den leeren Plenarsaal des Bundestags
What happens after the election
Find out here what happens after the federal election: How is the government formed and which time limits are specified by law?
SPD wins election
Germany has voted: SPD ahead of CDU/CSU
The 2021 Bundestag election is over; discover the results here.
Angela Merkel (CDU) Who will follow Merkel?
Wahlkampf in Deutschland: Redner auf dem Marktplatz. Campaigning in the Covid pandemic
Wahllokale befinden sich oft in Schulen.
Do minorities have their own parties?
The 2021 German federal election – key questions and answers surrounding the election of the country’s new parliament.
Bundestag
How was the election campaign?
Election candidates have been campaigning for themselves and their objectives for many weeks. Three of them sum things up here.
Plenarsaal
Making changes in Germany
Three candidates who hope to become members of the Bundestag for the first time provide insights into their election campaigns.
Warten vor dem Wahllokal (Archivbild 2020) The right to vote – a precious asset
Bundestag Younger, more diverse and more female
Am 26. September 2021 haben rund 60,4 Millionen Deutsche die Wahl. Already decided?
Bundestagswahl: Ab 18 dürfen junge Menschen wählen. Setting the course for the future

These are the parties represented in the Bundestag. Discover all the key facts here:

SPD
The oldest party
The SPD finds its origins in Germany’s oldest political parties. The Social Democrats still has close ties to unions and workers to this day.
Die Grünen
The environmental party
Protection of the environment was the motivation for establishing the Greens in the early 1980s. Today they co-govern in various coalitions.
Die Linke
The legacy of the GDR
Die Linke is the democratic successor to the former Social Unity Party of Germany in the GDR.
FDP
Shaping German foreign policy
The liberal FDP with its close ties to business has seen its importance decline of late. In its heyday, its foreign ministers influenced European history.
CDU
The sister parties
The sister parties CDU and CSU, known as the “Union” for short, form the traditionally strongest party in Germany, though they will have to cope with the departure of Angela Merkel.
AfD
Pretty far right
The right-wing populist AfD wants to leave the EU and abolish the euro. It rejects immigration and measures to fight climate change.

How German democracy functions at the federal level:

Deutscher Bundestag The German parliament and the parties
Bundestagswahl 2017: Jeder Wähler hat zwei Stimmen This is the way the federal elections work

Videos

Will the Bundestag grow to 1000 MPs after the election?
Will the Bundestag grow to 1000 MPs after the election?
Actually, the Bundestag, which has grown to 709 members, is supposed to become smaller again. But according to one expert, the exact opposite could happen in the September elections.
Wahl-O-Mat
This tool helps you decide how to vote
What do the parties in Germany actually stand for? And what does that mean for my voting decision?
Wahl ABC
Election ABC: young voters, majority, opposition
What types of majorities exist? How many young voters get to vote for the first time? And what is it about the opposition?
Bundestagswahl
Election ABC: postal vote, direct mandate, election officer
What is a direct mandate? Who coordinates such an election? And what do you do if you don't have time to vote on election day?
Bundestagswahl
Election ABC: Active and passive voting rights, non-voters
What is active and passive suffrage? And is the election valid even if almost no one goes? You can find the answers in the ABC of voting for the Bundestag elections.
Reichstag
Election ABC: First Vote, Second Vote, Five Percent Hurdle
The election is much more than just two crosses on the ballot paper.
Briefwahl
Federal election: What you need to know about postal voting
A new Bundestag will be elected in Germany on September 26. Almost six weeks beforehand, postal voting can begin. But how does postal voting actually work in Germany? This video explains all you need to know about it.
Stimmzettel
Federal election: This is how it works!
Do you need an election notice to put a cross on the ballot paper in Germany? What do you vote for with the first and second votes? And where do the many seats in the Bundestag actually come from? Here are the answers.
Armin Laschet
Federal election: CDU/CSU Chancellor Candidate Armin Laschet
Chancellor Angela Merkel is a member of the CDU/CSU. With her resignation: Who from her party is now standing for election as Chancellor? It's Armin Laschet. Discover all about Merkel's possible successor and his political goals here.
Annalena Bärbock
Federal election: Green Chancellor Candidate Annalena Baerbock
Could there be another woman at the top of German politics after Angela Merkel? Annalena Baerbock is running for Chancellor for the Green Party in this year's Bundestag elections. Find out all about her here.
Olaf Scholz
Federal election: SPD Chancellor Candidate Olaf Scholz
Angela Merkel will not run again as chancellor in the Bundestag elections in 2021. But who could succeed her? One possibility is the SPD's candidate for chancellor: Olaf Scholz. Find out all about him in this video.
Briefwahlstimmen werden 2020 in einer Messehalle ausgezählt. Ballot papers are checked three times
Briefwahl How Germany votes
Wahlkampf in Deutschland: Plakate an einer Straße in Heidelberg
Election campaigning is teamwork
Election in Germany – what happens behind the scenes in the election campaign? Interview with campaign manager Clemens Buhr
Sorgt für demokratische Wahlen: Georg Thiel.
"Stable and secure"
Is the election in Germany threatened by manipulation? The Federal Returning Officer explains the precautions that are being taken.
Wahlbeobachter werden auch Wahllokale besuchen.
Well-run election?
Election in Germany: for the fourth time since 2009, the Bundestag election is being observed by a team from the OSCE.
Wahlraum The citizen is sovereign
Politische Entscheidungen zwischen Fraktionsdisziplin und Moral. How German politics decides

Quick facts

709 seats in the Bundestag The parliament consists of at least 709 MPs.
299 constituencies Constituencies are so divided that there are about the same number of voters in each.
299 direct mandates The politician who receives the most votes in a constituency enters parliament with a direct mandate. 
5 per cent Only parties that have received at least five per cent of the second votes may enter the Bundestag.
47 parties are running in the 2021 Bundestag elections.
60,4 million German citizens are eligible to vote.
18 years of age is the minimum required age to vote and to run for office.
76.2 was the percentage of voter turnout in the 2013 Bundestag elections.

Want to understand German politics? Then you should familiarise yourself with the following topics:

Angela Merkel beim G7-Gipfel 2018 in Kanada mit Donald Trump Chancellorship with many challenges
Angela Merkel im Bundestag Especially memorable
Angela Merkel
Angela Merkel – her political career in pictures
The first female chancellor has governed Germany for almost 16 years. Now she is retiring.
TV-Duell vor der Wahl in Thüringen
Myths and realities
Manfred Güllner, the well-known opinion researcher, explains how the “electoral successes” of the right-wing populist AfD should really be assessed.
Frauenwahlrecht: 2018 selbstverständlich, 1918 revolutionär.
Women vote differently
Women in Germany have had the right to vote for 100 years. Why they nevertheless sometimes cast their vote less often than men, and what parties they prefer.
Das Bundeskabinett besteht fast zur Hälfte aus Frauen.
Equal rights in politics?
One of the most powerful women in the world governs Germany. Does that mean German politics has a high proportion of women? Here are the figures.
Deutsche Bundesregierung
The German State
What tasks are the governmental agencies and offices responsible for in Germany and in Europe? Here you will find links to the state, politics and democracy. And you can also contact public authorities and take advantage of services for the citizens.
Blick in den leeren Plenarsaal des Bundestags
What happens after the election
Find out here what happens after the federal election: How is the government formed and which time limits are specified by law?

Germany has a federal system. Get to know the 16 federal states here: