✶ Germany · calendar as of 4 November 2026
A president,
then five Länder.
After the snap Bundestag election of 23 February 2025 and five Landtag elections in 2026, the next vote is indirect: the Federal Convention elects a president on 30 January 2027. Five Länder follow by September.
Ahead
- 30 January 2027
18th Federal Convention elects the President
The 630 members of the Bundestag and 630 delegates chosen by the 16 Landtage elect Steinmeier's successor. Convened by Bundestag President Klöckner on 26 February 2026.
Source ↗ - 18 March 2027
Steinmeier's term ends
The new President takes office the next day (Art. 54(1) GG: five years, one re-election).
- 18 April 2027
Saarland and Schleswig-Holstein elect their Landtage
Saarland: SPD single-party government under Anke Rehlinger. Schleswig-Holstein: CDU–Greens under Daniel Günther; the SSW is exempt from the threshold there too.
Source ↗ - 25 April 2027
North Rhine-Westphalia elects its Landtag
The most populous Land (18.1 million people, 6 Bundesrat votes); CDU–Greens under Hendrik Wüst.
Source ↗ - 30 May 2027
Bremen elects its Bürgerschaft
Germany's smallest Land, with a four-year term; SPD–Greens–Left under Andreas Bovenschulte.
Source ↗ - 26 September 2027
- Autumn 2028
Bavaria and Hesse elect their Landtage
Dates not yet fixed.
- 25 January – 25 March 2029
Bundestag election due
Art. 39(1) GG: no earlier than 46 and no later than 48 months after the Bundestag first met (25 March 2025). The President fixes the date.
Source ↗ - Spring 2029
European Parliament election
Germany elects 96 MEPs by national list; there is no legal threshold for European elections in Germany (BVerfG 2014).
How a Bundestag election runs
From dissolution
to first sitting.
- Day 0Dissolution or end of term
A regular election falls 46–48 months after the Bundestag first met; after a dissolution, within 60 days (Art. 39(1) GG).
- Day −97Parties notify
Parties not already in the Bundestag or a Landtag with five members announce their participation; the federal electoral committee decides who may stand (§ 18 BWahlG).
- Day −69Nominations close
Constituency candidates and Land lists are filed with the returning officers; new parties need 200 signatures per constituency and up to 2 000 per Land list (§§ 19–27 BWahlG). Shortened by law for snap elections.
- Day −42Electoral register
Every resident German citizen is registered automatically by the municipality and receives a polling card (Wahlbenachrichtigung) about three weeks before.
- Day −2Postal votes
Postal ballots can be requested until the Friday before at 18:00 and must reach the office by 18:00 on polling day.
- Day 0Polling day
A Sunday, 8:00–18:00. No exit-poll results before 18:00 (§ 32(2) BWahlG); the count is public.
- Day +30First sitting
The new Bundestag meets within 30 days (Art. 39(2) GG).
Deadlines count back from polling day under the Bundeswahlgesetz and Bundeswahlordnung; after the December 2024 dissolution the Federal Ministry of the Interior shortened them by ordinance.
Publication rules
Polls yes,
exit polls at six.
Germany has no blackout on opinion polls: they can be published up to polling day. What the law forbids is publishing exit-poll results before the polls close at 18:00 (§ 32(2) BWahlG); the broadcasters' famous 18:00 forecast (the Prognose) is timed to that second. This site enforces both in code: /de/live checks the clock on every request, and as a house rule we show no polls on polling day before 18:00.
Campaigning inside or at the entrance of a polling station is banned while voting is under way (§ 32(1)).
Could this be published?
For the Landtag elections of 18 April 2027
- Pre-election poll:
- Exit-poll forecast (Prognose):
Every Landtag
When each
Land votes next.
| Land | Parliament | Last | Next | Term | Government |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Schleswig-Holstein | Landtag | 8 May 2022 | 18 April 2027 | 5 | CDU–Grüne |
| Saarland | Landtag | 27 March 2022 | 18 April 2027 | 5 | SPD |
| North Rhine-Westphalia | Landtag | 15 May 2022 | 25 April 2027 | 5 | CDU–Grüne |
| Bremen | Bürgerschaft | 14 May 2023 | 30 May 2027 | 4 | SPD–Grüne–Linke |
| Lower Saxony | Landtag | 9 October 2022 | 26 September 2027 | 5 | SPD–Grüne |
| Hesse | Landtag | 8 October 2023 | 2028 | 5 | CDU–SPD |
| Bavaria | Landtag | 8 October 2023 | 2028 | 5 | CSU–Freie Wähler |
| Brandenburg | Landtag | 22 September 2024 | 2029 | 5 | SPD–CDU |
| Saxony | Landtag | 1 September 2024 | 2029 | 5 | CDU–SPD |
| Thuringia | Landtag | 1 September 2024 | 2029 | 5 | CDU–BSW–SPD |
| Hamburg | Bürgerschaft | 2 March 2025 | 2030 | 5 | SPD–Grüne |
| Rhineland-Palatinate | Landtag | 22 March 2026 | 2031 | 5 | CDU–SPD |
| Baden-Württemberg | Landtag | 8 March 2026 | 2031 | 5 | Grüne–CDU |
| Berlin | Abgeordnetenhaus | 20 September 2026 | 2031 | 5 | CDU–SPD (acting) |
| Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania | Landtag | 20 September 2026 | 2031 | 5 | SPD–Linke (acting) |
| Saxony-Anhalt | Landtag | 6 September 2026 | 2031 | 5 | CDU–SPD–FDP (acting) |
2026, already counted
Behind us
- 1 November 2026Hendrik Wüst takes the Bundesrat presidency
North Rhine-Westphalia holds the presidency until 31 October 2027.
- 22 March 2026Rhineland-Palatinate Landtag
The SPD's worst result in the Land since 1947, after 35 years in government.
Results → - 8 March 2026Baden-Württemberg Landtag
First Landtag election in Baden-Württemberg with two votes; the CDU won 56 of the 70 constituencies, the Greens most list votes.
Results → - 20 September 2026Berlin Landtag
Die Linke came first in Berlin for the first time; checking the provisional result in Spandau 1 in Spandau 1 cut the house from 158 to 153 seats.
Results → - 20 September 2026Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Landtag
The AfD came first in a Land election for the second time this year; the CDU (4,89 %) lost its seats in the Landtag.
Results → - 6 September 2026Saxony-Anhalt Landtag
The AfD's best result in any Land, three seats short of a majority (42).
Results →