Press

Press release no. 05/2013 of 26. Juni 2013

Federal Electoral Committee decides about recognition of parties for the 2013 Bundestag Election

WIESBADEN – The Federal Returning Officer, Mr. Roderich Egeler, has invited the Federal Electoral Committee to convene for its first meeting for the election to the 18th German Bundestag. At that public meeting, the Federal Electoral Committee will discuss and decide on the recognition of political associations as parties for the election to the Bundestag on 22 September 2013. It will be held on Thursday, 4 July 2013, at 11 a.m. and on 5 July 2013 at 9 a.m. at Deutscher Bundestag in Berlin, Marie-Elisabeth-Lüders-Haus (entrance at Adele-Schreiber-Krieger-Straße 1), room 3.101 (Anhörungssaal).

For all electoral bodies of the coming Bundestag election, the Federal Electoral Committee will ascertain in a binding form:

  1. which parties have continuously been represented in the Bundestag or a Landtag since the latest election to that body by at least five members on the basis of their own nominations. Those parties will be entitled to submit nominations without being required to submit supporting signatures.
  2. which of the other associations that have notified the Federal Returning Officer of their participation in the election to the 18th German Bundestag have to be recognised as parties for that election under Section 2 of the Act on Political Parties. Nominations submitted by these parties will be admitted to the Bundestag election only if the parties are in a position to submit to the relevant Land or Constituency Electoral Committee a specific number of supporting signatures by persons entitled to vote.

The confirmations of the Federal Electoral Committee may be contested within a period of four days by lodging a complaint with the Federal Constitutional Court.

Upon expiry of the statutory exclusive period on 17 June 2013 at 6 p.m., 58 associations had notified the Federal Returning Officer of their participation in the 2013 Bundestag Election, as was reported on 18 June 2013 (2009: 49 notifications of participation).

On 4 and 5 July 2013, the Federal Electoral Committee will not decide on the approval of Land lists and constituency nominations for the 2013 Bundestag Election. Those decisions will be taken by the competent Land Electoral Committees and Constituency Electoral Committees on 26 July 2013. Nominations must be submitted by 15 July 2013, 6 p.m., either as Land lists to the competent Land Returning Officers or as constituency nominations to the competent Constituency Returning Officers.

The Federal Electoral Committee will not decide on possible appeals against the rejection or approval of Land lists by Land Electoral Committees until Thursday, 1 August 2013.

Important notes:

Those wishing to observe the meetings of the Federal Electoral Committee will have to pass security checks before entering the Bundestag buildings and show their identity cards. Visitors may only access the meeting room (Anhörungssaal, room 3.101) in the Marie-Elisabeth-Lüders-Haus via the entrance at Adele-Schreiber-Krieger-Straße 1.

Unless they are permanently accredited with the Bundestag, media representatives will have to seek prior accreditation by 4 July 2013 with the Press Office of the German Bundestag. An application form for download is available at http://www.bundestag.de/presse/akkreditierung/index.

Representatives of radio and television stations are requested to register also with the Press Office of the Federal Returning Officer by 2 July 2013, 10 a.m. at pressestelle@bundeswahlleiter.de.

 

For further information:
Office of the Federal Returning Officer
tel: +49 611 75-4863
www.bundeswahlleiter.de/contact