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Election Process
The Bundestag Draft laws may be submitted to the Bundestag by the cabinet or parliamentary committee. The Bundestag may call upon the government to explain, justify or defend its policies during debates and through parliamentary queries. It reviews and revises bills drafted by the government as it deems appropriate. Unlike the US Congress, where straight party-line votes are rare, the majority party or coalition in the Bundestag generally votes as a block. Germany’s system of proportional representation means that the number of members may vary from one legislative period to the other. It also means that approximately half of the members are directly elected by voters and the other half are there as a result of their party’s proportion of the overall votes. The Bundestag that is elected in September 2002 will be restricted to 598 members, from 299 electoral districts (Wahlkreise). The current Bundestag has 669 members, 207 or 31%, of which are women.
How Are Bundestag Members Elected? Each voter casts two votes: The first vote is for a specific candidate in a given district. The winner of a majority of votes in each district represents that district in the Bundestag. However, because there are twice as many seats in the Bundestag as there are electoral districts, a second vote must also be cast. This second vote is cast for a party. A list of candidates, the Landesliste, is drawn up by each party in each state. The Landesliste contains the names of politicians, ranked according to the influence they wield in their respective parties. The total number of seats each party receives in the Bundestag is determined by its total nationwide share of the second votes (proportional representation) according to a calculation system called the Hare / Niemeyer method. 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 list, starting from the top. Candidates placed high on their party’s list in their home state are thus assured seats in the Bundestag even if they fail to carry their home districts in the first vote. Proportional representation is designed to give minority parties a share in the legislature. This is how the Free Democratic Party, for example, has won seats in federal elections even though it has only once carried an electoral district. In this regard, the system benefits smaller parties and prevents the kinds of landslides that occur under majority representation. However, a party must obtain at least 5% of all second votes cast or carry at least three electoral districts to qualify for proportional representation in the Bundestag. The 5% clause is designed to prevent the proliferation of small parliamentary parties and the unstable, fragmented coalitions that existed in the Weimar Republic (1919-1932). If a party wins more direct votes than it would be entitled to under proportional representation, it keeps those seats, and the size of the Bundestag is increased accordingly. The extra seats are known as “overhang” seats (Überhangmandate). Who Can Be Elected? How Often Are Federal Elections Held? The Chancellor
How Is the Chancellor Elected? Once the elections have determined how many seats each party will have, the party or coalition of parties that commands the most seats presents a candidate for Chancellor to the President. The president then proposes this individual to the Bundestag, which in turn votes on the candidate without debate. To be elected, the candidate must receive the votes of a majority of the Bundestag. Failing that, the Bundestag then has 14 days to elect another person. In the event that no candidate wins an absolute majority within the Bundestag, the Chancellor can be elected with a plurality of votes. If this happens, the president must decide within seven days whether to appoint the Chancellor or to dissolve the Bundestag and call for new nationwide elections within the next 60 days. Konrad Adenauer, Willy Brandt and Gerhard Schröder were elected Chancellor after their parties won national elections. Ludwig Erhard and Helmut Schmidt (in his first term), were elected after their predecessors resigned. Helmut Kohl, who held the office of Chancellor for 16 years (Chancellors are not subject to term limits), was elected in a „constructive vote of no confidence“ in 1982, ousting Helmut Schmidt after the FDP (a member of the ruling coalition at the time) left the Schmidt government and joined forces with the opposition CDU/CSU. A new Chancellor may be elected before the expiration of the four-year legislative term under certain circumstances. If the incumbent resigns, the Bundestag may select a successor, as described above. An absolute majority of Bundestag members may select a new Chancellor by means of a “constructive vote of no confidence” if the governing coalition dissolves and a new Bundestag majority forms. This move is called “constructive” because it prevents a vacuum of power once a Chancellor is ousted by immediately replacing him or her with a successor. What Are the Chancellor’s Functions? The Chancellor is the head of the federal government, the person responsible for the general outline of the government’s policies at home and abroad, and answerable to the Bundestag for the execution of these policies. The Chancellor selects his own cabinet of ministers, usually from among members of the Bundestag. They are directly responsible to the Chancellor. Appointments and dismissals are carried out by the President at the Chancellor's request. The Chancellor appoints a member of the cabinet to serve as Vice Chancellor. In a coalition, the Vice Chancellor is customarily the leader of the junior coalition party, who also tends to hold the office of foreign minister. The current Vice Chancellor is Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer of the Alliance 90/Greens.
The Federal President What Are the Federal President’s Functions? As head of state, the president represents Germany in international affairs, concludes treaties with other countries and receives the credentials of foreign ambassadors and envoys. He or she formally appoints and dismisses high-level federal civil servants, federal judges, and officers of the federal armed forces, and may exercise the right of presidential clemency. The Federal President 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 Bundesrat (Assembly of Federal States) is the body that represents the federal states in the national legislative process. The number of votes cast by each state is determined by the size of that state’s population, as set forth in the Basic Law. The number varies between three and six; the Bundesrat has a total of 68 votes. As a legislative body, the Bundesrat is a decisive factor when it is controlled by the parliamentary opposition, since it can then stall, modify or in some instances block the administration’s legislative initiatives. The Bundesrat’s consent is required for constitutional amendments
and for federal legislation that directly affects the states. On other
issues, the Bundesrat may enter objections to laws passed by the Bundestag,
but its objections can be overridden by a majority vote in the The states are represented in the Bundesrat by state government ministers
or senior civil servants. The presidency of the Bundesrat is assumed by
the premiers of the states and this office rotates every six months in
alphabetical order. The president of the Bundesrat serves as the Federal
President’s representative when the Federal President is absent
or otherwise prevented from performing the duties of office. |
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