Germany goes to the polls What you need to know about the Bundestag elections

Do you understand the first vote and second vote only blocking clause? blue News explains the rules and customs of the Bundestag election.

A short but intense election campaign ends with the opening of the polling stations in Germany. After the break-up of the "Ampel" coalition and the dissolution of the Bundestag, voters cast their ballots for Germany's parliament.

It will be a little longer before the question of the chancellor is answered. Although voters decide on the party strengths in the Bundestag, they only indirectly decide who will govern them over the next four years.

The early federal election 2025 will take place on Sunday, February 23. Polling stations will be open from 8 am to 6 pm.

According to Deutsche Post, postal voters must have sent their voting documents in Germany by February 20 at the latest, and eligible voters outside Germany even earlier.

The Bundestag election in 2025 was actually scheduled for September - after the end of the 2021 Bundestag term. Due to the break-up of the traffic light coalition, it will take place around eight months earlier.

Germany is divided into 299 constituencies. These are divided into constituencies. Those entitled to vote in a constituency cast their vote at the polling station in their constituency. There they fill in their ballot paper in a booth, protected from view, and place it in an urn.

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German citizens who are at least 18 years old are eligible to vote.

Germans living outside Germany may vote if they have lived in Germany for at least three months after the age of 14 and this was no more than 25 years ago.

People who have been convicted of criminal offenses such as Treason and disclosure of state secrets, electoral fraud and obstruction, bribery of members of parliament, as well as assault on organs of other states and a number of other serious offenses.

29 parties are taking part in the election, according to the Federal Election Administration. The following have a realistic chance of entering the Bundestag:

In addition to their candidates for the Bundestag, some of these parties have also nominated candidates for the office of Federal Chancellor. In the foreground:

Voters cast their first vote for a candidate in their constituency, i.e. one of the people the parties nominate for election to the Bundestag.

Following a reform of electoral law by the traffic light government, candidates with enough first votes no longer automatically receive a seat in the Bundestag. They are elected under the following conditions: if their party receives the necessary 5 percent of second votes to enter the Bundestag; if a candidate wins at least three constituencies; if the candidate does not belong to a party.

They are only elected if their party receives enough votes to enter the Bundestag, which requires 5 percent of the second votes (see below).

The reason for the reform is that the previous system of first and second votes has increased the size of parliament from 598 MPs in 2002 to 733 MPs by 2021. This is because voters gave their first vote to a candidate from a different party than the party they voted for with their second vote. Because the second vote was nevertheless decisive for the distribution of seats in the Bundestag, additional candidates were given a seat in the Bundestag so that the party balance was maintained.

Every voter also has a second vote. They use this to vote for the party list of their federal state. The second votes decide how many seats the various parties receive in the Bundestag.

Party strength determines which party or coalition governs Germany.

As a rule, the candidate of the party with the most seats in the Bundestag - or the party with the most votes within the ruling coalition - becomes Federal Chancellor.

Only parties that receive at least 5 percent of the second votes nationwide enter the Bundestag.

This rule, also known as the "blocking clause", prevents very small parties from finding a majority in parliament.

The Federal Returning Officer is not expected to announce the provisional election results until the early hours of Monday morning. The provisional election results must be published by 2 p.m. at the latest on the day after the election.

Immediately after the polling stations close at 6 p.m., the media will publish the first projections. These are based on a survey of voters after they have left their polling station. These forecasts have so far provided an accurate picture of the party strengths in the coming legislature. However, shifts are possible.

The final and confirmed election results will be announced by the Federal Returning Officer a few weeks after the polls close.

The latest polls suggest a victory for the CDU. Between 27 and 32 percent of respondents said they would vote for Friedrich Merz's party.

According to the survey, the AfD is in second place with 20 to 23 percent.

The SPD is forecast to be the third strongest party with 15 to 18% of the vote.

The Greens achieved a voter share of 12 to 14% in the last survey.

The Left Party could also enter the Bundestag, with a predicted 6% to 9% of the vote.

It will be tight for the FDP and the BSW, whose predicted share of the vote is at or just below the required 5%.

The strongest party receives the mandate from the Federal President to form a government.

In the Federal Republic of Germany, governments with fixed majorities are common. If the strongest party does not have enough seats in the Bundestag to win a majority for its proposals, it looks for one or more coalition partners. To be able to assert itself, a governing coalition - or more precisely, the parties that belong to it - needs more than half of the seats in the Bundestag.

This is why the traffic light coalition of SPD, Greens and FDP governed until December 2024.

The parties that come together to form a governing coalition agree on a coalition program - political goals that they want to achieve during their time in government. This requires compromises. The further apart the coalition partners are due to their political orientation and party programs, the greater these compromises are.

If a single party emerges as the governing party, it appoints the Federal Chancellor.

Part of the coalition negotiations is who is to become Federal Chancellor. As a rule, the coalition partner with the largest share of the vote appoints the chancellor, which points to CDU candidate Friedrich Merz.

Formally, the Federal President proposes the candidate of the governing party or coalition to the Bundestag for election to the office of Chancellor. Once the head of government has been elected, he or she proposes the candidates for the ministries to parliament. Coalition partners also agree on these during their negotiations.

It can take several months before the new federal government takes up its duties. Olaf Scholz was sworn in on December 8, 2021, a good eleven weeks after the Bundestag elections. In 2018, it took almost six months for the coalition between the CDU/CSU and SPD to be finalized.