Article 54 of Germany’s constitution, the Basic Law, governs the election of the Federal President. The details of the election process are specified in the Presidential Election Act.

Members of the Federal Convention

The Federal Convention consists of the Members of the Bundestag and an equal number of members elected by the parliaments of the federal states.

According to section 2 of the Federal Presidential Election Act, the number of delegates from each federal state is calculated on the basis of the state population and is defined by the Federal Government in a Federal Cabinet decision.

The Federal Convention meets no later than 30 days before the Federal President’s term of office expires or, in the case of premature termination,  no later than 30 days after that date (Article 54 (4) of the Basic Law).

After the place and time of the Federal Convention and the number of delegates have been announced, the delegates are elected by the parliaments of the federal states. The representatives of the federal states are elected in line with the principle of proportional representation. Anyone who is eligible for election to the German Bundestag can be elected by a federal state parliament as a delegate to the Federal Convention.

Electing the Federal President is the only task of the Federal Convention.

The election process

The President of the German Bundestag convenes the Federal Convention. The President of the German Bundestag is responsible for preparing and carrying out the Federal Convention and for the process following the election. If the Federal Convention does not establish its own rules of procedure, the Rules of Procedure of the German Bundestag are applied accordingly.

Every member of the Federal Convention may nominate candidates for the office of Federal President. The Federal President is elected by the Federal Convention in a secret election for a term of five years. Any German who is entitled to vote in Bundestag elections and has reached the age of 40 at the time of election may be elected.

The successful candidate must gain the absolute majority of votes from the members of the Federal Convention in the first or second ballot. If no candidate receives an absolute majority of votes in the first or second ballot, in the third ballot a relative majority is sufficient.

The winner of the vote must declare within two days whether he or she accepts the election. After the successful candidate accepts his or her election, the President of the German Bundestag declares the Federal Convention to be concluded.