Roderich Egeler
President of the Federal Statistical Office
Press release February 26, 2009
27 February 2009: 100 days until the European Election
WIESBADEN – Tomorrow, 27 February 2009, is exactly the 100th day before the European Election. On that occasion, the Federal Returning Officer has compiled some figures relating to the 2009 European Election: the “Election in Figures”.
Counting the days before the European Election is important also in terms of electoral legislation: for every election there is a schedule precisely specifying for each day the terms and dates determined by law which have to be observed by all concerned. For instance, all persons eligible to vote have to be informed by the 21st day before the election, 17 May 2009, about their having been entered in the voters’ register. Applications for polling cards to be issued for the postal ballot may be filed until the 2nd day before the European Election, 5 June 2009.
For the complete schedule, further information on the 2009 European Election and statistics of all former European elections please refer to the website of the Federal Returning Officer at www.bundeswahlleiter.de.
Election in Figures
- 1 Federal Returning Officer organises the European Election in Germany.
- 2 new Member States have acceded to the European Union (EU) since the latest European Election: Bulgaria and Romania.
- 4 % of those eligible to vote are below the age of 21.
- 5 % -hurdle applies also in the European Election: in Germany, parties and political associations have to obtain at least five per cent of the valid votes cast in the Federal Republic of Germany to win seats in the European Parliament.
- 7 municipal elections will be held at the same time as the 7th European Election on 7 June 2009 in Baden-Württemberg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Rheinland-Pfalz, Saarland, Sachsen, Sachsen-Anhalt and Thüringen.
- 16 Land returning officers conduct the European Election in the federal Länder.
- 18 h: the European Election ends in Germany.
- 21 Euro of refreshment allowance will be paid to the members of the electoral boards on election day.
- 27 EU Member States will elect their members of the European Parliament.
- 31.7 % of those eligible to vote are above the age of 59.
- 48 days before the election, the Federal Returning Officer will announce the admitted lists of the parties and political associations.
- 51.6 % of those entitled to vote in Germany are women.
- 66 days before the election, nominations of lists for a Land must have been received by the Land returning officers.
- 68 days before the election, nominations of joint lists for all of Germany must have been received by the Federal Returning Officer.
- 70 cent will be paid to parties/political associations for each valid vote won.
- 99 members of the European Parliament will be elected in Germany.
- 430 district, town and ward returning officers organise the European election locally.
- 736 members will altogether be elected to the European Parliament in 2009.
- In 1979 the first direct election to the European Parliament was held.
- Some 80 000 polling stations will be open to the voters on 7 June 2009 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- About 630 000 volunteers will help at the polling stations and with the postal ballot on election day.
- 2.1 million EU citizens from other member states live in Germany and are entitled to vote here.
- 4.6 million first-time voters are entitled to cast their votes in the European Election in Germany.
- 64.3 million people are entitled to vote in the European Election in Germany.
- 378 million people in all EU Member States are entitled to vote in the 2009 European Election.
- 497 million is the total number of inhabitants of all European Union Member States.
For further information please contact:
Karina Schorn,
tel: (+49-611) 75-2317,
contact: www.destatis.de/contact