Federal Electoral Committee

In Bundestag elections, the duties of the Federal Electoral Committee include the following:

• ascertain which parties have been continuously represented by at least five representatives in the German Bundestag or in a Land parliament since the last election to that assembly on the basis of nominations made by the party itself (Section 18 (4) number 1 of the Federal Elections Act),
• establish which associations that do not fall within the scope of Section 18 (4) number 1 of the Federal Elections Act and have given notice of their intended participation in the election by 6 p.m. on the ninety-seventh day before the election are to be recognised as parties in the election,
• decide on appeals lodged against the rejection or admission of a Land list,
• determine and establish the final result of the election by Land list for the electoral area,
• establish the number of constituency seats won by the individual parties in the electoral area,
• determine and establish which candidates have been elected to serve as members of the German Bundestag based on the final results.

Once it has been established which associations shall be acknowledged as parties in the Bundestag election, a party or association may lodge a complaint with the Federal Constitutional Court if that ascertainment prevents the party from submitting nominations. Such complaint has to be filed within four days of the announcement.

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At European elections, the duties of the Federal Electoral Committee are:

• decide on complaints about decisions of the Federal Returning Officer and the Federal Electoral Committee pertaining to the rectifying of faults,
• decide on the approval of combined lists for all Länder and lists for one Land; decide on the declaration that one or several lists for individual Länder are to be excluded from the combination of lists,
• establish the total number of votes cast for the individual nominations, how many seats go to the individual nominations and which candidates have been elected.

Where the Federal Electoral Committee rejects a nomination in the absence of the right to submit such nomination, a party or association may lodge a complaint with the Federal Constitutional Court within 4 days of the announcement of the decision.

In accordance with the provisions of the Law on the Scrutiny of Elections, an objection may be lodged with the German Bundestag against the decision of the Federal Electoral Committee within two months after the election. The objection has to be lodged with the German Bundestag in written form and the reasons have to be stated.

If the objection should be disallowed by the German Bundestag, a complaint may be lodged with the Federal Constitutional Court in accordance with Section 48 (1) of the Federal Constitutional Court Act within a period of two months after the Bundestag has taken the decision.

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