Succession from the list

Parties may submit nominations in the form of Land lists. Provided that the party receives a sufficient number of second votes, the candidates on the Land list enter the Bundestag in the order given in the list.

If a party does not win seats for all the candidates on its list, the remaining candidates will become potential successors: they enter the Bundestag if representatives elected in a constituency or via the Land list refuse to accept election to the Bundestag or their seats become vacant before the end of the legislative term, for instance if they die. The respective Land returning officer decides who enters the Bundestag as a list successor. Candidates who have since resigned membership of the party in question or have become members of another party may not become a successor.

If there are no more candidates on the list, the seat vacated by the representative will remain vacant.

Up until and including the 2021 Bundestag election, a by-election had to be held in the constituency concerned to determine a successor, if the person vacating the seat had been elected as the constituency representative for a voters’ association or a party for which no Land list had been admitted in the relevant Land. From the 2025 Bundestag election onwards, constituency nominations will only be accepted from parties for which a Land list has been admitted in the relevant Land. Therefore, the above rule no longer applies.

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In contrast to Bundestag elections, there are substitute candidates in European elections.

Parties and other political associations submit nominations in the form of lists for a single Land or common lists for all Länder. The candidates on a list enter the European Parliament in the order indicated in the list.

A substitute candidate can be determined for each candidate. If representatives who ran for a Land list refuse to accept election to the European Parliament or if their seats become vacant before the end of the legislative term, for instance if they die, their seat will generally go to their substitute.

If a party or political association has not nominated a substitute candidate for the person vacating the seat, the list candidates who were not initially elected will move up the list according to the specified order on the list. This is also the case if the substitute candidate waives his or her right to the position. Candidates and substitute candidates who have left the party or political association concerned or have become members of another party or political association are not considered when a successor is selected. Candidates who have been elected but refused to accept election and representatives who have resigned their seat may not subsequently enter the European Parliament as substitute candidates.

The Federal Returning Officer decides who enters the European Parliament as a list successor.

If there are no more candidates on the list, the seat vacated by the representative will remain vacant.

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