41 Parties Approved for Germany's 2025 Bundestag Election

Smaller parties face significant challenges in meeting signature requirements for nationwide ballot access in the February 23 vote.

The Federal Election Committee has approved 41 parties to participate in the upcoming Bundestag election, fewer than the 53 initially approved in 2021.
Ten parties, including those already represented in parliament and the South Schleswig Voter Federation (SSW), are exempt from collecting supporting signatures.
Smaller parties must gather over 27,000 verified signatures across Germany by January 20 to qualify for nationwide ballot access, a significant hurdle given the shortened timeline for this early election.
Only two smaller parties, Volt and the Marxist-Leninist Party of Germany (MLPD), have reported securing sufficient signatures for nationwide participation, while others struggle to meet the requirements.
A recent legal challenge to reduce the signature threshold due to the compressed election timeline was rejected by Germany's Constitutional Court.