In the upcoming federal election on February 23, a total of 41 parties can participate, according to the Federal Election Director’s announcement on Tuesday. The Federal Election Committee reviewed the formal prerequisites in a public session on January 13 and 14 in Berlin, examining whether the parties meet the necessary conditions to take part in the election.
Ten parties, which have been represented in the German Bundestag or a state parliament for an unbroken period of at least five members since the last election, do not need to collect the required number of signatures to validate their election slates. This applies not only to the parties that were represented in the Bundestag during the last election, such as the SPD, CDU, Greens, FDP, AfD, CSU, and the Left, but also to the parties that were elected to state parliaments, including Bündnis Deutschland, BSW, and the Freie Wähler.
In addition, the Federal Election Committee has recognized 31 other organizations as parties, which can participate in the election for the 21st German Bundestag. These parties include the Bayernpartei, the Marxist-Leninist Party of Germany, the Bürgerrechtsbewegung Solidarität, the Gartenpartei, the Party of Humanists, the Basisdemokratische Partei Deutschland, the “Gerechtigkeitspartei – Team Todenhöfer”, the Party “Menschliche Welt”, the “Bündnis C – Christen für Deutschland”, the Party “Unabhängige für bürgernahe Demokratie”, the Party for Work, Constitutional State, Animal Protection, Elite Promotion, and Basic Democratic Initiative, the Party “Freie Sachsen”, the Party “Mensch Umwelt Tierschutz” (Animal Protection Party), the Party “Ab jetzt… Demokratie durch Volksabstimmung” (Referendum Party), the Party “Cannabis Social Club”, the Party “Mera 25 – Gemeinsam für Europäische Unabhängigkeit”, the Ökologisch-Demokratische Partei, the Naturschutzpartei, the Südschleswigschen Wählerverband (SSW), the Party “Liberale Demokraten – Die Sozialliberalen” (LD), the Party “Die Liebe Europäische Partei” (The Love), the Party “Volt Deutschland”, the Werte-Union, the Demokratische Allianz für Vielfalt und Aufbruch (Dava), the “Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei – Vierte Internationale” (SGP), the Party for Ageing Research, the Party of Progress (PdF), the “Sonstigen”, the “Dr. Ansay Partei” (DrA), the Neue Mitte, the “V-Partei – Partei für Veränderung, Vegetarier und Veganer”, and the Pirate Party Germany.
The Südschleswigschen Wählerverband (SSW) was recognized by the Federal Election Committee as a party of national minorities for the 2025 federal election, and therefore does not need to collect the required number of signatures. The Fünf-Prozent-Klausel will not be applied to the SSW either. The “Sonstigen” had also applied to be recognized as a party of national minorities, but the Federal Election Committee did not grant their request, and therefore the party must collect the required number of signatures and is subject to the Fünf-Prozent-Klausel, like all the other recognized parties.
Election slates must be submitted to the responsible state or district election authorities by January 20 at 6 pm as state or district election lists. The state or district election committees will decide on the admissibility of the slates on January 24.