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$Pretitle{}
$Title{Unified Germany
Germany Elections Parliament and Political Parties}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Press and Information Office}
$Affiliation{German Embassy, Washington DC}
$Subject{bundestag
federal
parties
party
elected
chancellor
german
germany
president
vote
see
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}
$Date{1990}
$Log{See Table 2.*0020001.tab
See Table 3.*0020002.tab
}
Title:       Unified Germany
Book:        The Unity of Germany and Peace in Europe
Author:      Press and Information Office
Affiliation: German Embassy, Washington DC
Date:        1990

Germany Elections Parliament and Political Parties

Elections, Parliament and Political Parties

     On October 3, 1990, eleven months after the fall of the Berlin Wall, East
Germany - the German Democratic Republic - ceased to exist and the citizens of
East and West Germany were united in a single Germany, the Federal Republic of
Germany. On December 2, 1990, Germans will be going to the polls for the first
time in almost sixty years to elect a parliament that represents all of
Germany.

     This pamphlet tells how elections work and describes the functions and
powers of those who are elected.

     The reader who is familiar with the system of government of the Federal
Republic of Germany will soon realize that what is being described on these
pages are the familiar West German institutions, not something new. The
merger of the two Germanys on October 3, 1990, did not result in the creation
of new political institutions. Instead, the German Democratic Republic and the
Federal Republic of Germany concluded a treaty of German unity, with East
Germany acceding to the Federal Republic under the West German constitution,
the Basic Law (Grundgesetz).

Two Systems of Democracy

     The Federal Republic of Germany is a parliamentary democracy. The German
parliamentary system, however, differs from the system in the United States of
America in several important respects. As in the United States, the Basic Law
states that sovereignty rests with the people. Unlike the United States,
however, where this sovereignty is exercised separately through the executive
and legislative branches, in Germany it is exercised directly only through the
legislature.

Checks and Balances

     The system of checks and balances, typical of Western democracies and
designed to prevent the concentration of too much power in a single individual
or group, is intricate and complex, but not identical, in both the Federal
Republic and the United States. Such checks and balances are a fact of
day-to-day political life in Bonn as well as Washington, though they are not
formalized in the same way. Both countries have an independent judiciary, but
in Germany the executive and legislative functions are more closely linked
than they are in the United States. Whereas under the U.S. system of division
of power, executive authority rests in a single office, and the members of
both houses of Congress are elected by the people, in Germany only the members
of one house of parliament (the Bundestag) are elected directly by the people,
while the head of state (the federal president) is elected by a special
assembly, and the head of government (the federal chancellor) is elected by
the members of the Bundestag. The second German house of parliament, the
Bundesrat, has no individual members as such. Instead, votes are allocated to
each state on the basis of population, and these votes are cast by members of
the state government or their delegates.

Head of State - Head of Government

     In contrast to the U.S. system, where the president serves as both head
of state and chief executive, in the German federal system the two functions
are vested in two different offices. The federal president, as the head of
state, carries out functions which are largely ceremonial and is expected to
represent the nation from a position above the partisan fray. The federal
chancellor, who is the head of government - i.e., the prime minister - and as
such the political leader of the country, is elected by the Bundestag. The
functions as well as the elections of the federal president and the chancellor
are described later in more detail.

The Federation

     Like the United States, Germany is a federation, with certain powers
reserved to the federal government and others reserved to the states
(Lander). Each of the constituent states has its own parliament elected
directly by the people of the state, and its own state government, with a head
of government elected by the members of the state parliament.

Power of the Parties

     In Germany, the parties play a much more significant role in the process
of forming governments and governing than they do in the United States, where
the president may be, and frequently has been, of a different party than the
majority in the House and/or Senate. In Germany, the government - the
chancellor and the cabinet - is drawn from the party which wins a majority of
the seats in the Bundestag in an election. If no party wins a majority, the
government may be drawn from a coalition of two or more parties which together
and command a majority. The party or parties which are in the minority
constitute the parliamentary opposition. Generally, new legislation originates
in the cabinet, which submits it to parliament for a vote. Unlike the U.S.
Congress, where straight party-line votes are rare, the majority party or
coalition in the Bundestag generally votes as a bloc in support of legislation
proposed by the government. At present there are five parties represented in
the West German Bundestag, three in the governing coalition and two in
opposition.

Who Can Vote?

     Every German citizen 18 years of age or older can vote. Germans living
abroad may vote if they fulfill certain requirements, as laid down in the
Federal Election Law. Certificates of registration are mailed out by the Board
of Elections in accordance with the lists of the local census bureau. These
lists are continually updated to include every resident of the particular
district. No further registration or statement of party affiliation is
required. Voter turnout in West Germany has usually been over 80%. Absentee
ballots make it possible to vote even if the voter is not at his or her place
of residence on election day.

What Is the Bundestag?

     The Bundestag is the popularly-elected federal legislature. With the
accession of the German Democratic Republic, the new all-German Bundestag will
have about 660 members, representing 328 electoral districts. It is the chief
repository of political power delegated by the sovereign people through their
votes. Its central function is to debate and pass legislation. The chancellor
and the ministers are normally drawn from its membership.

     Legislation may be submitted to the Bundestag by the government, by the
Bundesrat, or by members of the Bundestag itself. The Bundestag may, through
its debates and through the parliamentary query, call upon the government to
explain, justify and defend its policies. It reviews and revises bills drafted
by the government as it deems appropriate.

How Are Votes Cast?

     Each voter has two votes.

     The first vote is cast for a specific candidate. The winner of a
plurality of these votes represents that electoral district in the Bundestag
(majority voting). However, there are twice as many seats in the Bundestag as
there are electoral districts. These `extra' seats are allocated by means of
the second vote.

     The second vote is cast for a party. A list of candidates for this vote
is drawn up by each party in each federal state. Called the Landesliste, it
contains the names of leading politicians, listed according to their
influence in their party. The total number of seats each party receives in
the Bundestag is determined by its total nationwide share of the second votes
(proportional representation). Once the seats won by individual candidates in
the first vote have been filled, the remainder of a party's allotment is
filled from its Landesliste, starting at the top. In this way, a party's
candidate for chancellor, for example, by appearing high on the party's
Landesliste in his/her home state, is assured a seat in the Bundestag even if
he/she fails to carry his/her home district in the first vote.

     Proportional representation is designed to give a minority party a share
in the legislature. This is how the Free Democratic party, for example, has
won seats in federal elections, even though it could not carry a single
electoral district in the country.

     In its effect, the system benefits smaller parties and prevents the kind
of landslides that occur under majority representation.

     Although the seats are allocated on the basis of the parties' share of
the total vote (proportional representation), a party must obtain at least
five percent of all second votes cast or carry at least three electoral
districts to qualify for proportional representation in the Bundestag. If a
party wins more direct mandates than it would be entitled to under
proportional representation it would retain these surplus seats
(Uberhangmandate), and the size of the Bundestag would be increased
accordingly. The five-percent clause was instituted to prevent a proliferation
of small parties in parliament, making for unstable coalition government - a
lesson learnt from the unstable "Weimar Republic" of the 1920s.

     For the all-German elections on December 2, 1990, the election law was
amended to make it easier for small East German parties to gain
representation, because it was felt that these parties would not be able to
obtain five percent of the total all-German vote.

     According to the amended law, passed in October, parties in the former
German Democratic Republic may form alliances to run on a joint ticket and the
larger parties are allowed to offer places on their Landesliste to a party
that does not field a state list of its own (Listenverbindung). The votes will
be counted separately; parties which receive five percent of the votes in the
area of the former GDR will be represented in the Bundestag.

Who Can Be Elected?

     Candidates for the Bundestag must be German citizens 18 years of age or
older. They are nominated by party caucuses and elected either as individual
candidates in specific districts or an a state Landesliste. There are
no primaries. In practice many candidates, especially, those who occupy party
leadership positions, run in their districts and are also placed high on their
party's Landesliste, thus assuring them Bundestag seats as long as their party
clears the "five-percent hurdle."

     Once elected, a Bundestag deputy, subject only to his or her own
conscience according to the Basic Law, is free to change party affiliation,
though in practice this seldom occurs.

How Often Are Federal Elections Held?

     The Federal Republic of Germany holds national elections every four years
to choose the members of the Bundestag through a "general, direct, free, equal
and secret" ballot, as mandated by the Basic Law. The Bundestag then chooses
the federal chancellor. Generally the chancellor's selection is decided before
the formal vote, since all parties pledge their votes to candidates nominated
in caucuses prior to the election.

     Special off-year elections for a new Bundestag can be called:

     1) if the regular election has not resulted in a parliamentary majority
for any party or coalition of parties, or

     2) if an incumbent chancellor loses a vote of confidence in parliament
and asks the federal president to dissolve the Bundestag. A chancellor may
request such a vote, for example, if he or she lacks a legislative  majority
in the parliament and therefore decides that he or she can no longer govern
effectively. The federal president must honor the chancellor's request for
dissolution of parliament within 21 days, unless the majority of the Bundestag
elects an alternative chancellor.

How Is the Chancellor Elected?

     Once the elections have determined how many seats each party will have,
the party or the coalition of parties commanding the majority of seats decides
upon a candidate for chancellor to present to the federal president. The
president will propose this person to the Bundestag, to be elected without a
debate. To be elected, the candidate must receive more than half of the
Bundestag's vote. Failing this, the Bundestag may elect another person within
14 days, whom the president has to appoint. In the event that no candidate can
muster the support of the majority of the members of the Bundestag within 14
days, a final ballot is held, where the chancellor can be elected with a
plurality of votes. If the person elected in this final ballot, however,
manages to obtain the support of the majority of the members of the Bundestag,
the president is required to appoint him or her. If he or she wins only a
plurality of votes, the president must decide within seven days whether to
appoint the chancellor or dissolve the Bundestag and call for new nationwide
elections, to be held within 60 days.

     A chancellor may be elected before the expiration of the four-year
legislative term:

     1) if the incumbent resigns and the Bundestag elects a successor, as
described above, with the votes of the majority party or the governing
coalition, or

     2) if an absolute majority of Bundestag members elect an alternative
chancellor by means of a so-called "constructive vote of no-confidence," after
a breakup of the governing coalition and the formation of a new majority in
the Bundestag.

     Only Konrad Adenauer and Willy Brandt were - in their first
term - elected chancellor after winning national elections. Ludwig Erhard,
Kurt-George Kiesinger, and Helmut Schmidt were elected after their
predecessors had resigned, an Helmut Kohl was elected in a "constructive vote
of no-confidence," ousting Helmut Schmidt, after the FDP left his government
and joined forces with the opposition CDU/CSU.

     The chancellor does not have the power to dissolve the Bundestag and call
for new elections. It is only after failing to win a vote of confidence that
he or she can ask the president to dissolve the Bundestag. The president's
power to dissolve the Bundestag, however, lapses as soon as the majority of
the sitting Bundestag elect a new chancellor. There is no limit on how often a
chancellor is re-elected.

What Are the Chancellor's Functions?

     The chancellor is the head of the federal government, the person who lays
down the general outlines of the government's policies at home and abroad and
is responsible to the Bundestag for their execution.

     The chancellor names the members of the cabinet (ministers), usually from
among the members of the Bundestag. They are directly responsible to him or
her and cannot be removed by the Bundestag. They can be appointed and
dismissed by the federal president only upon the proposal of the chancellor.
Each minister is required by the Basic Law to conduct the affairs of his or
her ministry autonomously and on his or her own responsibility within the
guidelines set by the chancellor.

How Is the Federal President Elected?

     The federal president is elected by a majority of the Federal Convention
(Bundesversammlung), an assembly of all Bundestag members and an equal number
of delegates elected by the state legislatures according to the principle of
proportional representation. The Federal Convention is convened especially for
the occasion by the Bundestag president. If no candidate receives a majority
on either of the first two ballots, the plurality candidate is chosen on a
third ballot. Any citizen age 40 or over who has the right to vote for the
Bundestag is eligible for the office of federal president.

     The president is elected for five years and can be re-elected only once.

What Are the President's Functions?

     As head of state, the president represents Germany in international
affairs, concluding treaties with other countries and receiving the
credentials of foreign ambassadors and enjoys. He or she formally appoints and
dismisses federal civil servants, federal judges, and officers of the Federal
Armed Forces and may exercise the right of presidential clemency. He or she
participates in the legislative process through the promulgation of laws, the
dissolution of the Bundestag, and the formal proposal, appointment and
dismissal of the federal chancellor and the ministers.

     The political system of Germany assigns the president a non-partisan
role, often of a ceremonial nature, with powers that rest largely on the moral
authority of the office rather than on political power. An exception is the
occurrence of a parliamentary crisis when no candidate can command the support
of an absolute majority of Bundestag members. In this case, the president can
decide whether the country is to be governed by a minority administration
under a chancellor elected by a plurality of deputies or whether new elections
are to be called. Until now, this has not occurred.

What Is the Bundesrat?

     The Bundesrat (Assembly of Constituent States), is the body through which
the states of the Federal Republic share in the nation's legislative process.
The states are represented by ministers in the state government or by senior
civil servants. The number of votes that each state casts are determined by
its population size, as laid down in the Basic Law.

     The Bundesrat's consent is required for constitutional amendments and for
federal legislation which directly affects the states' affairs. On other
issues, the Bundesrat may enter an objection to a law passed by the Bundestag,
but its objection can be overridden by a majority of Bundestag members.

     The Bundesrat, as a legislative body, is most prominent when controlled
by the parliamentary opposition, since it can then be used to stall, modify or
in some instances even block the legislative programs of the federal
government. The president of the Bundesrat acts as the federal president's
deputy.

What Laws Govern Political Parties?

     Parties may be freely established. The Basic Law assigns to political
parties an independent role as institutions of public life "participating in
the forming of the political will of the people." It requires that "their
internal organization conform to democratic principles" and that they
"publicly account for the sources of their funds." To be eligible to nominate
candidates, a party must also have a written constitution and platform in
keeping with democratic practices. Parties which seek to impair or abolish the
free democratic order or to endanger the existence of the Federal Republic of
Germany may be declared unconstitutional by the Federal Constitutional Court.
This provision has been invoked on two occasions, once against the right-wing
Socialist Reichs Party in October of 1952, and once against the Communist
Party of Germany (KPD) in 1956.

How Are Parties and Campaigns Financed?

     The importance that the German political system accords to political
parties in the recruitment of political leaders and in the forming of
competing political programs is not only exemplified by a reference to them in
the Basic Law, as cited above, but is also brought out by the laws governing
their finances. The principle of party and campaign financing is that the
parties and candidates should not derive their influence from the backing of
powerful financiers or the personal wealth of those seeking elected office.

     Dues paid by party members and elected office holders together with
government funding make up between two-thirds and three-quarters of parties'
income. Voluntary contributions, investment income, commercial profits and the
like account for the rest. The parties are obliged to submit a complete
financial statement of income and expenditures to the president of the
Bundestag, containing the names of individuals and corporations contributing
more than DM 40,000.

     The main source of public funding is campaign reimbursements in the form
of lump sum payments spread over a period of four years and based on DM 5 per
"second vote" cast at the previous election. To qualify, parties have to
obtain at least 0.5% of the national vote or ten percent of the votes in a
single constituency. Parties polling more than five percent qualify for
additional payments if their income from dues and contributions is below
average. Membership dues and contributions by individuals and corporations are
tax-deductible up to DM 60,000 per person or corporation (twice this amount
for a married couple).

     Political parties cannot purchase radio or television time to advertise
their candidates or positions. During campaigns, however, radio and TV
stations provide time to government and opposition spokespersons free of
charge. Bound by the constitutional principle of neutrality, they must
allocate time to all parties and provide opportunities for rebuttals.

What Are the Political Parties?

     Although proportional representation is said to encourage smaller
political parties, voters in the Federal Republic have leaned increasingly
towards the three major parties: the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) - or, in
Bavaria, its sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU) - and the Social
Democratic Party (SPD). A fourth party which has been represented in the
Bundestag since the founding of the Federal Republic in 1949 is the Free
Democratic Party (FDP). Though it is much smaller than the other three, it has
played a pivotal role in most of the governments since the founding of the
Federal Republic by joining either the CDU/CSU or the SPD to form coalitions
when no single party won a majority. The newest party in Bonn is the Green
Party, which won seats in the Bundestag for the first time in the 1983
election.

     Smaller parties have come and gone. They have appealed to special
interests, such as those of refugee associations or religious groups, or to
regional issues. During the 1950s some of these parties cleared the
five-percent hurdle to gain seats in the Bundestag for a brief period, but
later passed from the scene. In the forthcoming election there are several
parties that will be watched closely apart from those represented in the old
West German Bundestag (CDU, CSU, SPD, FDP and the Greens). These are the
right-wing "Republikaner", who cleared the five percent threshold in some West
German state elections in the late 1980s and of course the new political
parties that sprang up in the GDR and did not merge with major West German
parties, as did the CDU, FDP and SPD. The former communist East German party
SED (Socialist Unity Party) changed its program, its leadership and finally
its name to PDS (Party of Democratic Socialism). It will share a ticket with
small leftwing parties in West German states. The Green parties in the Federal
Republic and the former German Democratic Republic have merged and already
formed an election coalition with the small East German non-communist,
left-of-center parties that arose in 1989 and were instrumental in toppling
the East German SED government. The joint slate will be called Greens/Alliance
90. The groups include New Forum, Initiative for Peace and Human Rights,
Democracy Now, and the Independent Women's League.

[See Table 2.: Table of Election Results in the Federal Republic of Germany]

[See Table 3.: First Free Elections to the Volkskammer (People's Chamber),
March 19, 1990 of the German Democratic Republic]