Status: 08/12/2021 4:59 p.m.
54 parties are allowed to vote in the Bundestag election, but seven do not take part. This means that 47 parties are in the vote on September 26th. In Saarland, the Greens cannot be elected with a second vote.
Six weeks before the federal election it is clear which parties will actually participate. Of the 54 originally admitted parties, seven will not participate for various reasons. As the Federal Returning Officer announced, they are not running either with state lists or with constituency candidates, and therefore cannot be elected.
The seven parties are: Free Voters Brandenburg, German Conservatives, German Center, Liberal Democrats, SGV (Solidarity, Justice, Change), WiR2020 and Wir2020. They are therefore not listed in the table below.
This means that 47 parties take part in the election. This includes those who are already represented in the Bundestag or in a state parliament – such as the CDU, CSU, SPD, FDP, Left, Greens, AfD and Free Voters – as well as various small and micro parties.
The Federal Returning Officer pointed out that approved nominations appear on the voting slip even if a party subsequently declares that it will not take part in the vote.
At the beginning of July, the election committee headed by Federal Returning Officer Georg Thiel spent two days examining the formal requirements that the parties must meet in order to participate in the federal election. The committee does not examine the party program. 88 parties and associations had indicated that they want to take part in the election. The German Communist Party was initially not admitted. She then lodged a complaint with the Federal Constitutional Court: with success. 19 other parties were unsuccessful in court with their complaints against their non-recognition.
Participation in political decision-making
Section 2 of the Political Parties Act is decisive for recognition as a party by the Federal Electoral Committee. Among other things, parties must seriously prove, for example based on the number of their members and their actions in public, that they want to participate in the formation of political will and want to represent the people.
Only parties that have been represented by at least five members without interruption in the German Bundestag or in a state parliament since the most recent election are excluded from the examination. You can submit your nominations directly.
This applies to the following eight parties this year, they compete with direct candidates as well as with national lists. They are therefore eligible for first and second votes – the vast majority of them are represented nationwide with state lists. The CDU, however, not in Bavaria, the CSU only in Bavaria. Even the Greens do not compete in a federal state with a state list, namely in Saarland. The federal electoral committee has excluded your state list from the federal election due to errors in the list.
| Political party | Members * | Founding** | selectable in | Link to the program |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) | 399.110 | 1950 | nationwide except in Bavaria | election program |
| Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) | 404.305 | 1863 | nationwide | election program |
| Alternative for Germany (AfD) | 31,896 | 2013 | nationwide | election program |
| Free Democratic Party (FDP) | 70,000 | 1948 | nationwide | election program |
| DIE LINKE (The Left) | 60,350 | 1990 | nationwide | election program |
| ALLIANCE 90 / THE GREENS (Greens) | 117.036 | 1980 | nationwide except in Saarland | election program |
| Christian Social Union in Bavaria eV (CSU) | 139,000 | 1946 | Bavaria | election program |
| Federal Association of Free Voters | 5000 | 2009 | nationwide | election program |
* Source: Federal electoral committee and parties, based on different reference dates; ** Source: Federal Returning Officer
Why is there a first and a second vote?
Arndt Brorsen, NDR, 6/8/2021 2:18 p.m.
Of the 45 other approved parties, 39 parties (see table below) ultimately compete. The PARTY, Tierschutzpartei, NPD, ÖDP, MLPD and Volt are represented with national lists in all 16 countries.
Seven of these parties send constituency candidates into the race. These are: referendum, mountain party, the others, family party of Germany, climate list Baden-Wuerttemberg and the Thuringian home party.
| Party (order after receipt) | Members * | Founding** | Link to the program |
|---|---|---|---|
| DKP – German Communist Party | 2850 | 1968 | program |
| HUMAN WORLD for the wellbeing and happiness of all | 669 | 2013 | program |
| Animal Welfare Alliance – Alliance for Human Rights, Animal and Nature Conservation | 97 | 2013 | program |
| The PARTY – party for work, the rule of law, animal welfare, elite support and grassroots democratic content | 46,000 | 2004 | program |
| BP – Bavaria Party | 4000 | 1946 | program |
| Garden party | 349 | 2013 | program |
| MLPD – Marxist-Leninist Party of Germany | 2800 | 1982 | program |
| III. Way – THE THIRD WAY | 631 | 2013 | program |
| SSW – South Schleswig Association of Voters | 3000 | 1948 | program |
| LOVE – European LOVE party | 53 | 2018 | program |
| Alliance C – Christians for Germany | 1000 | 2015 | program |
| INDEPENDENTS – INDEPENDENTS for citizen-friendly democracy | 150 | 2002 | program |
| The humanists – party of the humanists | 1920 | 2014 | program |
| dieBasis – Basic Democratic Party of Germany | 22,800 | 2020 | program |
| Volt – Volt Germany | 2386 | 2018 | program |
| Animal Welfare Party – PARTY PEOPLE ENVIRONMENT ANIMAL PROTECTION | 2000 | 1993 | program |
| Team Todenhöfer – The Justice Party | 5000 | 2020 | program |
| ÖDP – Ecological Democratic Party | 8000 | 1981 | program |
| BüSo – Civil Rights Movement Solidarity | 600 | 1992 | program |
| FAMILY – German family party | 700 | 1981 | program |
| Health Research – Party for Health Research | 300 | 2015 | program |
| Bündnis21 – diePinken / BÜNDNIS21 | 450 | 2021 | program |
| PIRATES – Pirate Party Germany | 6000 | 2006 | program |
| V-Party³ – Party for Change, Vegetarians and Vegans (V-Party³) | 1000 | 2016 | program |
| DiB – democracy in motion | 220 | 2017 | program |
| NPD – National Democratic Party of Germany | 3000 | 1964 | program |
| PdF – Party of Progress | 220 | 2020 | program |
| B * – mountain party, the over party | 170 | 2011 | program |
| The grays – for all generations | 135 | New 2017 | program |
| Gray panthers | 350 | 2008 | program |
| THP – Thuringian Home Party | 56 | 2020 | program |
| LKR – Liberal Conservative Reformer | 1000 | 2015 | program |
| SGP – Socialist Equality Party, Fourth International | 280 | 1971 | program |
| Referendum – From now on … Democracy through referendum | 350 | 1997 | program |
| you. – The urban. A hip hop party | 300 | 2017 | program |
| CITIZEN MOVEMENT – Citizens Movement for Progress and Change | 170 | 2021 | program |
| LfK – party for children, young people and families – lobbyists for children | 100 | 2021 | program |
| KlimalisteBW – Climate List Baden-Württemberg | 411 | 2020 | program |
| other – THE OTHER | 171 | n / a | program |
* Source: Federal Electoral Committee, the Protection of the Constitution and political parties, based on different reference dates; ** Source: Federal Returning Officer
The South Schleswig Voters’ Association (SSW) was recognized by the federal electoral committee as a party of national minorities for the federal election in 2021 and therefore did not have to submit any supporting signatures. The SSW is also exempt from the five percent clause. All other parties recognized by the Federal Electoral Committee for the Federal Parliament election 2021 had to collect supporting signatures for their election proposals. However, due to the corona pandemic, this hurdle has been adjusted. The number of signatures required is reduced to a quarter.
ARD and ZDF will be reporting on the small and very small parties on September 13 and September 15, respectively “The dream of five percent. On the way to the small parties” to report.