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Today is the day! At 8 a.m. this morning, polling stations across Germany opened their doors and voting on the next government – and Angela Merkel’s successor – began. But what is the schedule for the rest of the day? And when can we expect an election result?
Key times on election day in Germany
The federal election in 2021 promises to be an election like no other, which testifies to the end of Angela Merkel’s 16-year term in office and, with her CDU / CSU alliance fighting for polls, promises a comprehensive restructuring of the government. In addition to the members of the Bundestag, people from Berlin and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania also vote in the state elections. Berlin continues to hold district elections and a referendum on the same day.
This is how the day will go:
- 8 o’clock in the morning: Polls open across the country for people to come and vote
- Until 3 p.m.: People can request additional emergency votes, for example in the event of sudden illness
- 3:30 p.m.: Georg Thiel, Federal Returning Officer, will issue a preliminary statement on voter turnout
- 6 p.m.: Polling stations close and polling offices no longer accept postal votes
About 650,000 volunteers have been hired to occupy 88,000 polling stations across the country, distribute ballot papers and help with the counting once the polls close at 6 p.m. At this point, most will probably be eagerly awaiting the first predictions, but when will the first results be available?
Federal election 2021: when will the first results be announced?
Shortly after the polling stations in Germany close at 6 p.m., the provisional election results will be announced by the Federal Returning Officer. This is based on a representative sample of anonymous post-election surveys (sometimes referred to as “exit surveys”) and the interim results published by the local constituencies. In the past, this projection took place around 6.15 p.m.
While the exit poll gives a good indication of which direction the vote might be going, it is not a final result and the count will continue throughout the night. When a constituency has counted all of its votes – this usually happens in the early morning hours – the local election officer forwards this result to the federal returning officer.
Based on these results, it will then announce a preliminary final result of the federal election. This happens sometime during the night or early in the morning. In the 2017 federal election, the preliminary results were announced on Monday morning at 5:25 a.m.
When will the official final result be known?
It can usually take a few weeks for the official final election result to be announced to allow for counts and recounts and all other matters.
In 2017, for example, the election took place on September 24th, but the final result was not announced until October 12th. In 2013, the election was on September 22nd and the result was announced on October 9th.
When will the new German government be formed?
The newly elected Bundestag must meet no later than 30 days after the election. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that there will be a new government by then. After the election, the largest parties will begin coalition talks and negotiations – a lengthy process that can take several months. The parties must form a coalition that holds the majority of the 598 seats in the Bundestag.
Once a coalition is formed, they elect a chancellor who then has to be approved by the Bundestag with an absolute majority of over 50 percent before they can appoint cabinet ministers. When all new ministers are officially appointed and sworn in by the president, the new government will take office. Until then, Angela Merkel will hold the position of Chancellor.
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