September 2021 is election month in Germany.
The composition of the new Bundestag is on the agenda.
We clarify the most important dates and deadlines for the election.
Munich - The federal election in 2021 is just around the corner. The hot phase of the election campaign is in full swing, surveys and analyzes outline new scenarios for the next government formation in the Federal Republic of Germany on a daily basis. Eligible voters who have not yet received an official voting notification will no longer receive it without their intervention.
(Election data, live ticker, background coverage - all information about the federal election 2021 can be found in our politics newsletter.)
The vote in the Bundestag election will be counted on September 26th.
Until the evaluation of the ballot paper is final, however, it will take until the morning of the next day.
For the Bundestag in the next legislative period, it will then be a matter of determining a government, as a result of which the successor to Chancellor Angela Merkel will also be settled.
As a reminder: In the last federal election, those responsible from the Union and the SPD only signed the joint coalition agreement in March 2018 - almost six months after the federal election.
Here is an overview of the most important dates and deadlines with regard to the upcoming election:
Dates and deadlines for the Federal Parliament election 2021: Before the election
August 15
(Sunday) was the key date on which the entry of all eligible voters who are registered with the registration office of the Federal Republic of Germany had to be made in the electoral roll.
September 5th
(Sunday) was the last day for the delivery of the official voting notification for those entitled to the electoral roll.
The ballot paper provides information about the procedure, postal voting, time and place where the person entitled to vote can cast his or her vote.
In addition, this was the last day for submitting an application for entry in the electoral roll.
This is necessary for people with German citizenship who have their place of residence abroad.
On
September 24th
(Friday) a voting slip can be requested up to the 6 p.m. deadline.
However, there are exceptions (see
September 26th
).
In addition,
September 24th is
the last possible date for applying for postal voting documents.
How to proceed in the case of a postal vote is written on the back of the voting slip.
The documents will then be handed out directly to the electoral office on election Sunday.
Dates and deadlines of the federal election 2021: The day of the election
September 26th:
In exceptional cases, the voting slip can be applied for on the day of the Bundestag election until 3 p.m.
The reason for the delay (the obligation to provide evidence applies here) must be based on a culpable failure, for example due to illness or a delayed legitimation of the right to vote.
Otherwise, the election for the Bundestag will take place on September 26, 2021 between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m.
This deadline is then also the latest point in time for the timely receipt of the voting letters with the ballot papers.
As expected, the first forecasts for BTW make the rounds before the polling stations close.
After that, the counting of the ballot papers will run meticulously, concrete projections should be available shortly after 6 p.m.
The provisional, official election result will most likely not be known until well after midnight.
Dates and deadlines for the Federal Parliament election 2021: After the election
September 27
(Monday): While the final result of the federal election will not be known until the morning after, the result for the Free State of Bavaria is supposedly expected shortly after midnight.
On the day after the federal election, a lot of (further) calculations are made in order to evaluate the final election results: The district electoral committee determines the results of the first votes and the people elected in the constituencies in a public meeting.
Politicians who have received a direct mandate are notified by the district returning officer.
At the same time, the state election committee determines the second vote result (list election) in the respective federal state.
Once this procedure has ended, it is the turn of the federal electoral committee, which determines the overall result of the state list election and the elected state list applicants, and the members of the Bundestag identified are notified.
In this context, the elected representatives are announced and the seats in parliament are allocated.
On October
26th
(Tuesday) the people elected to the Bundestag officially acquire membership, with the opening of the constituent session of the German Bundestag.
This date is set for one month after the election.
On November
26th
(Friday) the deadline for the possibility of objection expires, which every eligible voter, the state returning officer, the federal returning officer or even the President of the Bundestag can raise.
The appointment is set for two months after the election.
Bundestag election: New government and successor to Angela Merkel
And when will the new federal government and the chairmanship of the Federal Chancellery in Berlin actually be determined?
The formation of a government lasted longer than ever in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany in the last federal election.
This time too, in all probability, a coalition will be formed, about which there is often a lot of fuss.
The grand coalition of CDU / CSU and SPD only agreed on the coalition agreement in March 2018, and the decision and the election as Federal Chancellor took place almost six months after the general election.
The Basic Law does not specify an exact date for the election of the Chancellor.
Article 69, however, holds out the prospect that Angela Merkel is obliged, at the request of the Federal President, to continue the official business until there is a new head of government.
You don't yet know where to put your cross on the ballot paper?
The Wahl-O-Mat for the federal election takes interested parties by the hand.
Everything you need to know about its origin and meaning.
(PF)
