State financing of parties
The parties shall receive state funds as a partial contribution to the financial means they
require to carry out the duties generally imposed on them by the Basic Law. The allocation of state
funds depends on
- a party’s success in elections to the European Parliament, to the German Bundestag and to the
Länder Parliaments,
- the total of a party’s membership fees,
- the amount of money it receives as donations.
The maximum total of state funds which may be paid to parties each year shall be EUR 133
million (absolute upper limit).
In the context of partial financing by state funds, each party is granted the following
amounts per year:
- EUR 0.70 per valid vote cast for its list or
- EUR 0.70 per valid vote cast for a party in an electoral district or a constituency whose list
was not approved in a Land, and
- EUR 0.38 for each euro which it has obtained as bestowals (membership fee paid, contribution
paid by a mandate holder or rightfully obtained donation); in this context, only bestowals up to
EUR 3,300 per natural person are taken into account.
Notwithstanding Numbers 1 and 2, each party shall be granted EUR 0.85 per valid vote obtained
up to a limit of four million valid votes.
Only such parties are entitled to state funding pursuant to Numbers 1 and 3 as have obtained
at least 0.5 per cent of the valid votes cast for the lists in the preceding elections to the
European Parliament and the Bundestag or 1.0 per cent of the valid votes cast for the lists in the
preceding Landtag election based on the final election result; for payments in accordance with
Number 1 or in accordance with the regulation, notwithstanding Number 1 (EUR 0.85), the party must
fulfill these prerequisites at the respective election. Only such parties are entitled to state
funding pursuant to Number 2 as have obtained 10 per cent of the valid votes cast in an electoral
district or a constituency based on the final election result.
See the Law on Political Parties for details.
Candidates of a nomination submitted by registered voters in accordance with Sections 18 and
20 of the Federal Elections Act (individual candidates) who have obtained at least 10 per cent of
the valid first votes cast in a constituency shall receive EUR 2.80 per valid vote.
Besides, at European elections, other political associations which in the electoral area have
made nominations of their own and have obtained 0.5 per cent of the valid votes cast shall be
entitled to state funding. They shall receive EUR 0.70 per year for every valid vote.
Notwithstanding this regulation, they shall receive EUR 0.85 per vote for the votes they have
obtained up to a maximum of 4 million valid votes. The provisions on the absolute upper limit are
not applicable here.
Legal bases
Bundestag election: Sections 18, 19 of the Law on Political Parties (PartG); Section 49 b of
the Federal Elections Act (BWG)
European election: Sections 18, 19 of the Law on Political Parties (PartG); Section 28 of the
European Elections Act (EuWG)
Last update: April 2008
©2012 The Federal Returning Officer
