Responsibilities of the Federal Returning Officer

The Federal Returning Officer is responsible for the organisational preparation and conduct of Bundestag and European elections and has the following duties in both elections:

verify the proper conduct of the election
establish and chair the Federal Electoral Committee
issue invitations to Federal Electoral Committee meetings
check candidates for inadmissible dual candidacy and prepare a list of candidates
determine which constituency candidates have been elected in the seat allocation procedure based on second votes
ascertain and announce the provisional election result for the electoral area
notify the candidates who have been elected by Land list
announce the final election result for the electoral area
check whether the election has been held in keeping with the provisions of electoral legislation
keep a record of all registered Germans living abroad who are eligible to vote
exercise the right to lodge an objection in the electoral scrutiny procedure
procure and supply special application forms for Germans living abroad who are entitled to vote so that they can apply for entry in the voters’ registers and participate in the election
publicly announce who will be the successor(s) from the list of candidates

Bundestag elections

In Bundestag elections, the Federal Returning Officer also has the following responsibilities:

receive and preliminarily examine the notices of participation in the election received from associations which have not been continuously represented in the Bundestag or a Land parliament by at least five deputies since the last election to that assembly on the basis of nominations made by the party itself, and check whether the association has party status
announce the assessment of the Federal Electoral Committee establishing which parties have been continuously represented by at least five of their party-nominated deputies in the German Bundestag or in a Land parliament since the last election to that assembly, and which associations have been recognised as parties in the election
monitor the decisions taken by constituency electoral committees on the approval or rejection of constituency nominations, with the right to appeal to the Land returning officer
receive and examine complaints lodged against decisions taken by Land electoral committees
prepare the final declaration by the Federal Electoral Committee of the final result of the Land list election

Legal bases

Section 6, Section 9, Section 18, Sections 26 to 28, Section 42 of the Federal Elections Act (BWG)
Section 4, Section 5, Section 18, Section 32, Section 33, Sections 35 to 37, Sections 40 to 42, Section 44, Section 71, Sections 75 to 81, Section 84 (3), Section 88 of the Federal Electoral Regulations (BWO)
Section 2 (2) of the Law on the Scrutiny of Elections (WahlPrG)

European Parliament elections

In European elections, the Federal Returning Officer also has the following responsibilities:

publicly announce where, by when and in what due form the exclusion from the combination of lists can be declared
receive the nominations – lists for all Länder and lists for a single Land – and examine them preliminarily
check whether another Member State of the European Union provides reasons against the nomination of German candidates/substitute candidates and, if applicable, annul the nomination of said candidates
check whether Union citizens listed as candidates/substitute candidates are eligible for election
check whether German candidates are eligible for election in other Member States
receive, preliminarily examine and announce (after the decision has been taken by the Federal Electoral Committee) the declaration concerning exclusion from the combination of lists
exercise the right to lodge a complaint when a nomination has been rejected or approved (entirely or in part) by the Federal Electoral Committee
publicly announce the nominations approved, pointing out which combinations of lists are valid and which nominations are excluded from such a combination of lists
verbally announce which candidates have been elected according to the provisional results
notify the candidates who have been elected
submit the final election result to the President of the German Bundestag
establish the successor(s) from the list of candidates
procure official forms
exchange information with the other EU Member States on Union citizens listed in German voters’ registers

Legal bases

Section 9 (2) of the Federal Elections Act (BWG) in conjunction with Section 4 of the European Elections Act (EuWG)
Section 2 (2), Section 11 (1), (3), Section 13 (1), Section 14 (4), (6); Section 19, Section 20, Section 26 of the European Elections Act (EuWG)
Section 4 (1), Section 17 (5), Section 17a (5), Section 31 (2), Section 33, Section 36, Section 37, Section 64 (5), (6), Section 71 (3), Section 72, Section 74, Section 77, Section 81 of the European Electoral Regulations (EuWO)
Section 2 (2) of the Law on the Scrutiny of Elections (WahlPrG)

Last update: 2 January 2024