At stake in this election:

• 603 seats in the Federal Assembly (Bundestag)

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Johannes RAU *
• Head of Government: Chancellor Gerhard SCHROEDER
• Assembly: Germany has a bicameral Parliament (Parlament) consisting of the Federal Assembly (Bundestag) with 603 seats and the Federal Council (Bundesrat) with 69 seats.

* The President is elected by indirect vote by the Federal Convention to serve a 5-year term. The Federal Convention includes all members of the Federal Assembly and an equal number of delegates elected by the state parliaments.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by indirect vote to serve a 5-year term.
• In the Federal Assembly (Bundestag), 299 members are elected in single-member constituencies to serve 4-year terms and 304 members are elected through a party-list proportional representation system to serve 4-year terms*. In the Federal Council (Bundesrat) 69 members are .**

* A party must win 5% of the national vote or three direct mandates to gain representation

** State governments are directly represented by votes; each has 3 to 6 votes depending on population and are required to vote as a block.

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Party: Christian Democratic Union / Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU)
  • Leader: Angela MERKEL (CDU) / Edmund STOIBER (CSU)
  • Seats won in this Federal Assembly election: 248
  • Seats won in last Federal Assembly election: 245
• Party: Social Democratic Party / (SPD)
  • Leader: Gerhard SCHROEDER
  • Seats won in this Federal Assembly election: 251
  • Seats won in last Federal Assembly election: 293
• Party: Free Democratic Party (FDP)
  • Leader: Guido WESTERWELLE
  • Seats won in this Federal Assembly election: 47
  • Seats won in last Federal Assembly election: 43
• Party: Alliance '90/Greens
  • Leader: Fritz KUHN and Claudia ROTH
  • Seats won in this Federal Assembly election: 55
  • Seats won in last Federal Assembly election: 47
• Party: Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS)
  • Leader: Gabi ZIMMERMAN
  • Seats won in this Federal Assembly election: 2
  • Seats won in last Federal Assembly election: 36
• Party: Others
  • Leader: N/A
  • Seats won in this Federal Assembly election: 0
  • Seats won in last Federal Assembly election: N/A

Last Parliamentary election:

• Parliamentary elections were last held September 27, 1998

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 82,488,495 (2002)
• Registered Voters: 61,432,868 (September 2002)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 42,128,082 (2002)

·         Is Germany a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (17 July 1980)

·         Has Germany ratified CEDAW: Yes (10 July 1985)

·         Gender Quota: No

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 194 (German Bundestag) following the 2002 elections

·         Human Development Index Position: 6 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: N/A

Disability Data:

·         Is Germany a signatory to CRPD: Yes (30 March 2007)

·         Has Germany ratified CRPD: Yes (24 February 2009)

·         Population with a disability: 12,373,274 (est.)