The participation of Germans living abroad in this federal election is practically non-existent due to the complexity of the German voting system. German citizens living abroad cannot request a postal vote at the German embassy or consulate in their country of residence, but only at the last municipality they were registered with in Germany. This municipality must then send the voting materials by post to the voter, who must then return them by post to the same municipality.
Reports have emerged that even this process did not work for German citizens in Switzerland this time, as the time frame was too short. The possibility of voting is virtually non-existent for Germans in other parts of the world, such as Brazil or Australia.
The German ambassador in London expressed his concerns about the situation. FDP politician Konstantin Kuhle commented in an interview, “It’s a scandal because many Germans abroad are being hindered from exercising their democratic right. That’s unworthy of a democracy.”
The process could have been simplified, but the Foreign Office had delayed a change. “A simpler solution would be for Germans abroad to fill out their postal voting forms directly at the embassies or consulates and have them collected and sent back to Germany” Kuhle said.
He expects a complaint to be filed, but believes the election’s validity would not be challenged as a result. The Federal Constitutional Court has not ordered a re-election in any case, except for individual constituencies.
However, some details in this case are particularly critical. If the entry of one or more parties into the Bundestag is narrowly missed, the prevention of voting from abroad could suddenly take on a very different quality. It is currently unknown how many Germans live abroad, as many retirees who live in Bulgaria or Turkey, for example, still maintain an address in Germany. Additionally, many people have left the country in recent years, starting with the COVID-19 pandemic, for various reasons, which may explain why the Foreign Office had no interest in finding a functional solution.
A voting solution through consulates and embassies is used by many countries, particularly those with mandatory voting, such as Brazil. The fact that Germany still uses the most complex, expensive and slowest method could have unpredictable consequences this time.