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The Week in Germany: Politics

August 5, 2005

Niche parties seek place on ballot

From Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's Social Democrats and Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats to the Anarchist Pogo Party, some 55 political parties or associations want to field candidates in German elections planned for Sept. 18, according to reports.

Still, the hurdle for prospective parties is high and many of the election hopefuls may yet be ruled ineligible according to rules that require prospective parties to collect signatures of potential voters to show sufficient support.

In the country's last election in 2002, only 24 of the 47 parties which applied were admitted, the German election authority said.

Parties such as the Animal Rights Party, the Ecological Democratic Party and the Family Party face an even greater challenge in securing the 5% share of the vote needed to enter the federal parliament.

Currently, only six parties sit in Germany's Bundestag: The ruling Social Democrats and their junior coalition partner Greens; the main opposition conservative Christian Democratic Union and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union; the pro-business Free Democrats and the ex-communist Party of Democratic Socialism.

Nearly 62 million Germans are eligible to go to the ballot, with around 15% of them planning to vote via mail, officials said.

Links:

Decision 2005: Promises, platforms and philosophies (from Germany.info)

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