Land list

Land lists may be submitted by political parties only. The parties decide whether they will stand for election to the Bundestag in only one Land, in several Länder or in all 16 Länder. In Bundestag elections, there are no “federal lists”, in other words, no single party list for all the Länder.

Land lists have to be submitted to the Land returning officers in charge.
The submission of Land lists is subject to specific formal requirements. For example, parties which have not been continuously represented in the electoral area by at least five deputies in the German Bundestag or a Land parliament on the basis of nominations made by the party itself must submit, together with their Land list, signatures of one per thousand eligible voters in the Land in the last election to the German Bundestag, but not more than 2,000 supporting signatures.

Due to the restrictions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the more difficult conditions for the 2021 Bundestag election, the legislator reduced the number of supporting signatures required for constituency nominations and Land lists to 25 % at both levels.

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In European elections, Land lists are nominations of parties or other political associations which run for election in only one Land or in several Länder but not in all Länder (= federal lists or common lists for all Länder). Since the European election of 2014, Land lists have to be submitted to the Federal Returning Officer.

Parties which have not been continuously represented in the electoral area by at least five deputies in the European Parliament, the German Bundestag or a Land parliament since the last election to that assembly on the basis of nominations made by the party itself, as well as other political associations, must submit, together with their lists for individual Länder, signatures of one per thousand eligible voters in the Land in the last election to the European Parliament, but not more than 2,000 supporting signatures.

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