Editing Politics of Germany (section)

===Bundestag===
{{Main|List of Bundestag constituencies}}
[[File:Berlin reichstag west panorama 2.jpg|thumb|[[Reichstag building]]]]

The ''Bundestag'' (Federal Diet) is elected for a four-year term and consists of 598 or more members elected by a means of [[mixed-member proportional representation]], which Germans call "personalised proportional representation". 299 members represent single-seat [[constituency|constituencies]] and are elected by a [[first-past-the-post electoral system]] ([[Direktmandat]]), where others ([[Listenkandidat]]) are elected from a [[State list (Germany)|state list]]. 

A party must receive either 5% of the national vote or three direct constituencies to be eligible for non-constituency seats in the ''Bundestag''. This rule, often called the "five-percent hurdle", was incorporated into Germany's election law to prevent political fragmentation and minority parties from becoming disproportionately influential. Parties representing ethnic minorities are exempt from this threshold.  

Parties that obtain fewer constituency seats than their national share of the vote are allotted seats from [[State list (Germany)|state party lists]] to make up the difference. In contrast, parties that obtain more constituency seats than their national share of the vote are allowed to keep these so-called [[overhang seat]]s. In federal elections since 2013, other parties obtain extra seats ("balance seats") that offset advantages from their rivals' overhang seats. The current ''Bundestag'' is the largest in German history with 736 members.

A 2023 reform of German election law limits the size of the ''Bundestag'' to 630 members for upcoming federal elections. Unless exempt from the hurdle, parties that do not make the 5% threshold will no longer be granted representation in parliament even if their candidates win three constituencies. In the same context, the system of overhang and balance seats will also be abolished. Opposition parties have announced they will challenge the decision in Federal Constitutional Court.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Germany passes law to shrink its XXL parliament – DW – 03/17/2023 |url=https://www.dw.com/en/germany-passes-law-to-shrink-its-xxl-parliament/a-64471203 |access-date=2023-05-07 |website=dw.com |language=en}}</ref>

The first ''Bundestag'' elections were held in the Federal Republic of Germany ("West Germany") on 14 August 1949. Following reunification, [[1990 German federal election|elections for the first all-German ''Bundestag'']] were held on 2 December 1990. The last [[2025 German federal election|federal election]] was held on 23 February 2025.