Bundestag

The Bundestag (German: [ˈbʊndəstaːk] , "Federal Diet") is the federal parliament of Germany. It is the only constitutional body in the country directly elected by the German people. The Bundestag was established by Title III of the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany (Grundgesetz) in 1949 as one of the legislative bodies of Germany, the other being the Bundesrat. The members of the Bundestag are representatives of the German people as a whole, are not bound by any orders or instructions and are only accountable to their conscience. Since the current 21st legislative period, the Bundestag has a fixed number of 630 members. The Bundestag is elected every four years by German citizens aged 18 and older. Elections use a mixed-member proportional representation system which combines first-past-the-post voting for constituency-seats with proportional representation to ensure its composition mirrors the national popular vote. The German Bundestag cannot dissolve itself; only the president of Germany can do so under certain conditions. Together with the Bundesrat, the Bundestag forms the legislative branch of government on federal level. The Bundestag is considerably more powerful than the Bundesrat, which represents the state governments. All bills must first be passed in the Bundestag before they are discussed in the Bundesrat. The Bundesrat can only accept laws passed by the Bundestag without amendment. Only in some areas, where laws directly affect the states, can the Bundesrat reject laws; otherwise, it can only lodge an objection to them, which the Bundestag can overrule. Above all, however, the chancellor and the federal government are solely responsible to the Bundestag. The Bundestag also has sole budgetary authority. Since 1999, the Bundestag has met in the Reichstag building in Berlin. The Bundestag also operates in multiple new government buildings in Berlin around the neo-renaissance house and has its own police force (the Bundestagspolizei), directly subordinated to the Bundestag Presidency. The Bundestag's presiding officer is the president of the Bundestag; they are deputized by the Vice Presidents of the Bundestag. Since 2025, Julia Klöckner of the CDU/CSU is the president of the Bundestag. In the protocol order of the federation, the President of the Bundestag ranks second after the President and before the Chancellor.

Infobox

Established

7 September 1949; 76 years ago (1949-09-07)

Preceded by

mw- Historically: Reichstag (Nazi Germany, 1933–1945)De jure: Reichstag (German Reich, 1871–1945)

President

Julia Klöckner, CDU/CSU since 25 March 2025

Vice presidents

Josephine Ortleb, SPD since 25 March 2025

President by right of age

Gregor Gysi, The Left since 25 March 2025

Chancellor

Friedrich Merz, CDU/CSU since 6 May 2025

Leader of the Opposition[a]

Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla, AfD since 6 May 2025

Seats

630

Political groups

Government (328) CDU/CSU (208) CDU (164) CSU (44) SPD (120) Opposition (302) AfD (151) The Greens (85) The Left (64) Non-attached (2) SSW (1) Independent (1)

Voting system

Mixed-member proportional representation (MMP)

Last election

23 February 2025

Next election

On or before 25 March 2029

Tables

· Electoral term and principle of discontinuation

13th

LegislativeSession

13th

Session[clarification needed]

248th

Date

16 October 1998

Reason or subject

Government statement by Foreign Minister Klaus KinkelResolution on participation in the air operations planned by NATO in the Kosovo conflict

15th

LegislativeSession

15th

Session[clarification needed]

187th

Date

26 September 2005

Reason or subject

Resolution on continuation of the participation of armed German forces in the deployment of an International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan under NATO leadership

20th

LegislativeSession

20th

Session[clarification needed]

213th

Date

13 March 2025

Reason or subject

Motion to amend the Basic Law (amendment of Art. 109 and 115 and introduction of Art. 143 h), first reading

20th

LegislativeSession

20th

Session[clarification needed]

214th

Date

18 March 2025

Reason or subject

Motion to amend the Basic Law (amendment of Art. 109 and 115 and introduction of Art. 143 h), second and third reading

LegislativeSession	Session[clarification needed]	Date	Reason or subject	Plenary protocol
13th	248th	16 October 1998	Government statement by Foreign Minister Klaus KinkelResolution on participation in the air operations planned by NATO in the Kosovo conflict
15th	187th	26 September 2005	Resolution on continuation of the participation of armed German forces in the deployment of an International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan under NATO leadership
20th	213th	13 March 2025	Motion to amend the Basic Law (amendment of Art. 109 and 115 and introduction of Art. 143 h), first reading
20th	214th	18 March 2025	Motion to amend the Basic Law (amendment of Art. 109 and 115 and introduction of Art. 143 h), second and third reading

· Latest election result › Regular election of 2025

Party

Col 1

Party

Col 2

Party list

Col 3

Constituency

Col 4

Totalseats

Col 5

+/–

Votes

Col 1

Votes

Col 2

Col 3

Seats

Col 4

Votes

Col 5

Col 6

Seats

Total

Col 1

Total

Col 2

49,642,087

Col 3

100.00

Col 4

354

Col 5

49,498,186

Col 6

100.00

Col 7

276

Col 8

630

Col 9

–105

Valid votes

Col 1

Valid votes

Col 2

49,642,087

Col 3

99.43

Col 5

49,498,186

Col 6

99.14

Invalid/blank votes

Col 1

Invalid/blank votes

Col 2

285,228

Col 3

0.57

Col 5

429,129

Col 6

0.86

Total votes

Col 1

Total votes

Col 2

49,927,315

Col 3

100.00

Col 5

49,927,315

Col 6

100.00

Registered voters/turnout

Col 1

Registered voters/turnout

Col 2

60,490,603

Col 3

82.54

Col 5

60,490,603

Col 6

82.54

Source: Federal Returning Officer

Col 1

Source: Federal Returning Officer


Party		Party list			Constituency			Totalseats	+/–
Party		Votes	%	Seats	Votes	%	Seats	Totalseats	+/–
	Christian Democratic Union	11,194,700	22.55	36	12,601,967	25.46	128	164	+12
	Alternative for Germany	10,327,148	20.80	110	10,175,438	20.56	42	152	+69
	Social Democratic Party	8,148,284	16.41	76	9,934,614	20.07	44	120	–86
	Alliance 90/The Greens	5,761,476	11.61	73	5,442,912	11.00	12	85	–33
	The Left	4,355,382	8.77	58	3,932,584	7.94	6	64	+25
	Christian Social Union	2,963,732	5.97	0	3,271,730	6.61	44	44	–1
	Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance	2,468,670	4.97	0	299,226	0.60	0	0	New
	Free Democratic Party	2,148,878	4.33	0	1,623,351	3.28	0	0	–91
	Free Voters	769,170	1.55	0	1,254,488	2.53	0	0	0
	Human Environment Animal Protection Party	482,032	0.97	0	82,485	0.17	0	0	0
	Volt Germany	355,146	0.72	0	391,577	0.79	0	0	0
	Die PARTEI	242,806	0.49	0	122,386	0.25	0	0	0
	Grassroots Democratic Party of Germany	85,557	0.17	0	41,903	0.08	0	0	0
	Bündnis Deutschland	79,012	0.16	0	88,046	0.18	0	0	New
	South Schleswig Voters' Association	76,126	0.15	1	58,773	0.12	0	1	0
	Ecological Democratic Party	49,730	0.10	0	54,641	0.11	0	0	0
	Team Todenhöfer	24,558	0.05	0	9,757	0.02	0	0	0
	Party of Progress	21,377	0.04	0	1,282	0.00	0	0	0
	Marxist–Leninist Party of Germany	19,876	0.04	0	24,208	0.05	0	0	0
	Party of Humanists	14,446	0.03	0	1,873	0.00	0	0	0
	Pirate Party Germany	13,809	0.03	0	2,152	0.00	0	0	0
	Bavaria Party	12,315	0.02	0	5,784	0.01	0	0	0
	Alliance C – Christians for Germany	11,784	0.02	0	2,021	0.00	0	0	0
	MERA25	7,128	0.01	0	658	0.00	0	0	New
	Values Union	6,803	0.01	0	2,844	0.01	0	0	New
	Bürgerrechtsbewegung Solidarität	719	0.00	0	1,303	0.00	0	0	0
	Human World	694	0.00	0				0	0
	Socialist Equality Party	425	0.00	0	73	0.00	0	0	0
	Party for Rejuvenation Research	304	0.00	0				0	0
	Independents				70,110	0.14	0	0	0
Total		49,642,087	100.00	354	49,498,186	100.00	276	630	–105
Valid votes		49,642,087	99.43		49,498,186	99.14
Invalid/blank votes		285,228	0.57		429,129	0.86
Total votes		49,927,315	100.00		49,927,315	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		60,490,603	82.54		60,490,603	82.54
Source: Federal Returning Officer