The Federal Returning Officer, Ruth Brand, attributes the relatively low number of candidates in the upcoming federal election to the early date of the vote.
“We have around 4,500 candidates for the federal election, which is roughly 1,700 fewer than in 2021” Brand told the ‘Rheinische Post’ (Friday edition). “However, it is worth noting that in 2021, we had a record number of approximately 6,200 candidates” said the President of the Federal Statistical Office.
Speculation is all that can be done about the reasons, Brand said. “One possible reason is that this is a premature federal election. The parties had significantly less time to prepare, as the lists had to be established much earlier” she explained. “Non-parliamentary parties also had less time to gather the required supporting signatures.” As a result, only 29 parties will participate in this election, compared to 47 in 2021.
Brand also emphasized: “And importantly, the voters have the choice of which candidate and which party to give their vote to, regardless of the number of candidates. This does not affect the legitimacy of the election.