Election right reform: Who really moves into the Bundestag?

Election right reform: Who really moves into the Bundestag?

The Bundestag election in Germany took place on February 23, 2025, and the effects of the voting right reform, which was decided by the traffic light in 2023, are significant. Hessen, which now receives 45 mandates in the Bundestag, shows particularly serious results. Five CDU constituency winners from Hessen will not move into parliament in this election. According to the reporting of FR.de, Marcus Kretschmann (Groß-Gerau), Anna-Maria Bischof (Schwalm-Eder), Leopold Born (Frankfurt II), Astrid Mannes (Darmstadt) and Yannick Schwander (Frankfurt I).

The reason for the exclusion of the MPs mentioned lies in the voting right reform, which has reduced the influence of the first vote on the total number of mandates in the Bundestag. This reform means that electoral winners do not automatically move into parliament, which is particularly problematic for the CDU from Hessen. A total of 15 CDU constituency winners have the chance to move into the Bundestag, including known faces such as Jan-Wilhelm Pohlmann (Waldeck) and Michael Meister (Bergstraße) to name just a few.

The new rules in detail

The voting right reform introduced by the traffic light government results in some significant changes. Overhang and compensation mandates have been abolished, so that the seat distribution is now based exclusively on the second votes. For the Bundestag election in 2025, the size of the parliament is set at 630 seats, in contrast to the previous 733 seats in the last legislative period - a drastic reduction that affected the largest freely chosen parliament in the world.

The changes also affect the direct candidates. These must be covered in the Bundestag by the second part of your party, which means that tactical voting seems less sensible. Forecasts indicate that in 45 constituencies the winners may not be able to move into parliament, which could affect six CDU candidates in Hesse, as is carried out on Hessenschau.de.

parties and mandate distribution

In addition to the CDU, other parties also move into the Bundestag. The SPD will be represented with ten MPs, including prominent names such as Nancy Faeser and Dagmar Schmidt. The AfD has established itself with nine MPs while the Greens were able to achieve seven mandates. The left will be represented with four MPs in the Bundestag.

The new rules ensure a basic mandate clause. This states that parties with at least three direct mandates can move into the Bundestag even if they do not exceed the important five percent hurdle. This could be important for smaller parties, while the likelihood of greater fragments of the coalitions increases.

With this federal election, not only new political chapters are concluded, but also raises questions about the future occupation of the German Parliament. The result shows once again how significant voting rights reforms are for the political landscape of a country.