Announcement for the 2025 federal election

Announcement by the district returning officer on the submission of district nominations in constituency 161 Chemnitz for the election to the 21st German Bundestag on 23 February 2025

In accordance with the order on the Bundestag election on 23 February 2025 of 27 December 2024 (Federal Law Gazette 2024 I No. 435), the election to the 21st German Bundestag will take place on 23 February 2025. It is to be held in accordance with the provisions of the Federal Election Act (BWG) and the Federal Electoral Regulations (BWO) in the respective applicable version (BWG: Announcement of 23 July 1993 (Federal Law Gazette I p. 1288, 1594), last amended by Article 1 of the Act of 7 March 2024 (Federal Law Gazette 2024 I No. 91); BWO: Announcement of 19 April 2002 (Federal Law Gazette I p. 19)). April 2002 (Federal Law Gazette I p. 1376), last amended by Article 1 of the Ordinance of 12 September 2024 (Federal Law Gazette 2024 I No. 283), and the Ordinance on the Abbreviation of Time Limits in the Federal Elections Act for the Election to the 21st German Bundestag of 27 December 2024 (Federal Law Gazette 2024 I No. 436).

In accordance with Section 32 BWO, I hereby publicly call for the earliest possible submission of notifications of participation and nominations for the election to the 21st German Bundestag on 23 February 2025.

According to the annex to Section 2 (2) BWG, last amended by the Twenty-Seventh Act Amending the Federal Election Act of 7 March 2024 (Federal Law Gazette 2024 I No. 91), constituency 161 Chemnitz comprises the urban area of the district-free city of Chemnitz.

1. right to nominate candidates, notification of participation
District election nominations may be submitted by parties and, in accordance with Section 20 BWG, by eligible voters (other election nominations).
Parties that have not been continuously represented in the German Bundestag or a Land parliament with at least five deputies since their last election on the basis of their own nominations may only submit a nomination as such if they have notified the Federal Returning Officer at the Federal Statistical Office, 65180 Wiesbaden, of their participation in the election in writing by 6.00 p.m. on 7 January 2025 (47th day before the election) at the latest and the Federal Electoral Committee has established their party status. Pursuant to Section 18 BWG, the notification must contain

the name under which the party intends to participate in the election,
the personal and handwritten signatures of at least three members of the federal executive committee, including the chairman or his deputy
(If a party has no federal executive committee, the executive committee of the highest party organisation takes the place of the federal executive committee) and
the written statutes, the written programme and proof of the appointment of the party's executive committee in accordance with the statutes as annexes.
The notification should be accompanied by proof of party status in accordance with Section 2 Paragraph 1 Sentence 1 of the Political Parties Act (further information at www.bundeswahlleiterin.de).

2. district election nominations
2.1 Candidates for election
Parties or authorised voters (other nominations) may only submit one constituency nomination in each constituency.
A constituency nomination may only contain the name of one candidate.
Each candidate may only be nominated in one constituency and only in one constituency nomination. Only candidates who have irrevocably consented to their nomination in writing may be nominated as candidates.
Only candidates who are not members of another party and who have been elected as constituency candidates at a general meeting or at a special or general assembly of representatives may be nominated as party candidates in a constituency nomination.

A general meeting for the election of a constituency candidate is a meeting of the party members entitled to vote in the constituency for the German Bundestag at the time of the meeting. Special Representatives' Meeting is a meeting of the representatives elected by such a Members' Meeting from among its members. A general assembly of representatives is an assembly appointed by such a general assembly from among its members in accordance with the party's constitution for upcoming elections. The candidates and representatives for the representatives' meetings are elected by secret ballot. Every participant in the meeting who is entitled to vote is entitled to nominate candidates. Candidates must be given the opportunity to present themselves and their programme to the meeting within a reasonable period of time. The executive committee of the regional association or, if there are no regional associations, the executive committees of the next lower-level regional associations in whose area the constituency is located, or another body specified for this purpose in the party statutes, may raise an objection to the resolution of a members' or representatives' meeting. The vote must be repeated in response to such an objection. The result shall be final. The details of the election of representatives for the Assembly of Representatives, the convening and quorum of the Assembly of Members or Assembly of Representatives and the procedure for the election of the candidate are regulated by the parties in their statutes. Elections may be held no earlier than 32 months after the start of the electoral term of the German Bundestag, and no earlier than 29 months for the Assembly of Representatives.

Eligible candidates are those who, on election day

is a German within the meaning of Article 116 (1) of the Basic Law,
has reached the age of eighteen, and
is not excluded from eligibility pursuant to Section 15 (2) BWG.

2.2 Content and form of the constituency nominations
The constituency nomination should be submitted in accordance with the model in Annex 13 to Section 34 BWO.

It must contain

the surname, first names, profession or status, date of birth, place of birth, address (main residence) of the candidate and
in the case of nominations by political parties, their name and abbreviation (if they use one); in the case of nominations by authorised voters (other nominations), their password.

The nomination should also contain the names, addresses, telephone numbers and e-mail addresses of a representative and a deputy representative. Unless otherwise stipulated by the Federal Election Act and the Federal Electoral Regulations, only the authorised representative and the deputy authorised representative are solely entitled to make or receive binding declarations on the constituency nomination.
District nominations by parties must be signed personally and by hand by at least three members of the executive committee of the Land association, including the chairperson or deputy chairperson. If a party does not have a Land association or a uniform Land organisation in a Land, the constituency nominations must be signed by the executive committees of the next-lower regional associations in whose area the constituency is located. The signatures of the submitting executive committee are sufficient if it can prove within the submission deadline that the state returning officer has received written authorisation from the other participating executive committees.
In the case of nominations by persons entitled to vote (other nominations), three signatories of the nomination must affix their signatures (supporting signatures) to the constituency nomination itself.

The district nomination must be accompanied by
the declaration of the proposed candidate in accordance with the model in Annex 15 to Section 34 BWO that he/she agrees to be nominated and has not given his/her consent to be nominated as a candidate for any other constituency,
a certificate from the competent municipal authority that the proposed candidate is eligible for election (Annex 16 to Section 34 BWO),
in the case of district election nominations by parties, a copy of the minutes of the resolution of the members' or representatives' meeting in which the candidate was nominated, together with the affidavits in lieu of an oath required under Section 21 (6) sentence 2 BWG (Annexes 17 and 18 to Section 34 BWO) (in the case of an objection under Section 21 (4) BWG, also the minutes of the repeated vote together with the corresponding affidavits in lieu of an oath),
in the case of party nominations, the affidavit of the proposed candidate to the district returning officer that he/she is not a member of a party other than the party submitting the nomination (Annex 15 to Section 34 BWO) and
for constituency nominations requiring supporting signatures (cf. item 2.3 Supporting signatures), the required number of supporting signatures together with certificates of the signatory's right to vote in the constituency at the time of signing on official forms pursuant to Annex 14 to Section 34 BWO.

Please refer to Sections 23 - 25 BWG for the provisions on the withdrawal or amendment of constituency nominations and the rectification of defects.

The approval of a party's constituency nomination is subject to the condition that the state list of the submitting party is approved in accordance with Section 28 BWG.

2.3 Supporting signatures
Constituency nominations by parties that have not been continuously represented in the German Bundestag or in a Land parliament with at least five deputies since the last election on the basis of their own nominations and constituency nominations by eligible voters (other nominations) must be signed personally and by hand by at least 200 eligible voters in the constituency. Eligibility to vote must exist at the time the signatures are submitted and must be proven at the time of submission. The supporting signatures must be provided on official forms in accordance with Annex 14 to Section 34 BWO and in compliance with the following provisions:

The forms will be provided free of charge by the district returning officer on request; he can also provide them as a print template or electronically. The request must include the surname, first names and address (main residence) of the candidate to be nominated and the name of the party, including any abbreviation used, or the password in the case of other nominations. If proof is provided at the time of the request that an information block has been entered for the candidate in the register of residents in accordance with Section 51 (1) of the Federal Registration Act, a contact address will be used instead of the candidate's address; it is not sufficient to provide a PO box. Parties must also confirm the candidate's nomination at a members' meeting or a special or general meeting of representatives. The district returning officer shall affix this information and the official seal to the forms before collecting the supporting signatures. Signatures on other, non-official forms are invalid.
Eligible voters who support a district election proposal must sign the declaration on the form personally and by hand. In addition to the signature, the surname, first names, date of birth and address of the main residence of the signatory as well as the date of signature must be stated. For each signatory, the form must be accompanied by a certificate from the competent municipal authority (City of Chemnitz, Citizens' Registration Office, Citizens' Service Department) confirming that the signatory was eligible to vote in the electoral district at the time of signing. Anyone applying for certification of the right to vote on behalf of another person must prove that the person concerned supports the district election proposal.
Eligible voters within the meaning of Section 12 Paragraph 2 Sentence 1 No. 1 of the Federal Elections Act (Germans living abroad who lived in the constituency before moving away) must provide proof of their eligibility to vote by providing the information specified in Annex 2 to Section 18 Paragraph 4 BWO and by submitting a declaration. Persons entitled to vote pursuant to Section 12 paragraph 2 sentence 1 number 2 of the Federal Elections Act (Germans living abroad who are personally and directly familiar with the political situation in the Federal Republic of Germany or are affected by it) must prove their eligibility to vote by providing the information pursuant to Annex 2a to Section 18 paragraph 5 BWO and by submitting an affidavit in lieu of an oath.
An authorised voter may only sign one constituency nomination. If an eligible voter has signed several constituency nominations, his/her signature is invalid on all further constituency nominations following the first signature.
Party nominations may only be signed after the candidate has been nominated by a members' or representatives' assembly. Signatures made before this are invalid.

2.4 Submission of constituency nominations
The district election proposals for constituency 161 Chemnitz must be submitted in writing with the annexes required under Section 34 BWO to the district election officer by 20 January 2025, 18:00 at the latest at the following office (no other office of the city administration!)

Postal address:
City of Chemnitz
Electoral authority
09106 Chemnitz

House address:
City of Chemnitz
Electoral authority
Bahnhofstraße 53
09111 Chemnitz
Tel. 0371 488 - 1830
E-mail wahlbehoerde(at)stadt-chemnitz.de

Opening hours of the electoral authority:
Mondays to Thursdays: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Fridays: 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.
on 20 January 2025: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
or by personal appointment.

All nominations received by the office of the district returning officer by the above-mentioned deadline are deemed to have been received on time. In the case of postal dispatch, the responsibility for timely receipt lies with the submitter of the nomination.
All required documents must be submitted as originals with original signatures. The submission of copies, scanned or faxed documents or the use of electronic signatures instead of original signatures does not fulfil the admission requirement.
The forms for submitting constituency nominations (Annexes 13, 15, 16, 17 and 18 to Section 34 BWO) are made available on the Federal Returning Officer's candidate portal. Parties and other candidates can obtain the necessary access information from the office of the district returning officer (see above for contact details). Alternatively, they can be obtained from the above office of the district returning officer for constituency 161 Chemnitz. The official forms for supporting signatures for district electoral nominations (Annex 14 to Section 34 (4) BWO) are only available at the office of the district returning officer.

The invitation to submit state lists is published separately by the state returning officer in the Saxon Official Gazette.

Chemnitz, 02.01.2025

Ralph Burghart
District returning officer
Constituency 161 Chemnitz