Germany's parliamentary elections in February were competitive and professionally managed, despite logistical challenges due to tight deadlines. While fundamental freedoms were respected overall, the vibrant campaign was targeted by disinformation and foreign interference and marked by polarization.
Media coverage of the campaign was extensive and varied, allowing citizens to make an informed choice on election day. At the same time, several aspects of the electoral legislation were of concern and need further review. These relate to the criminalization of defamation, insufficient transparency and scope of campaign finance regulations, limited effectiveness of election dispute resolution and lack of efforts to promote women's participation in political life.
These are some of the main conclusions from the final report , published by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR). The report offers recommendations to bring elections in Germany closer in line with OSCE commitments and international standards for democratic elections.
Key recommendations include:
- Aligning the legal framework with the commitments made by all OSCE states as well as international standards through an inclusive consultation process;
- Increasing efforts to ensure women's active participation in public and political life;
- Addressing electoral violence proactively;
- Strengthening freedom of expression by lifting criminal sanctions for defamation;
- Ensuring timely and effective remedy for violations of election-related legislation;
- Improving the campaign finance framework by establishing timely and transparent reporting and setting up an independent oversight body;
- Enhancing the transparency and integrity of the electoral process by publishing detailed and disaggregated election results;
- Guaranteeing the unrestricted access of citizen and international observers to the entire electoral process.
The ODIHR Election Assessment Mission to the 23 February early parliamentary elections started work on 10 February and remained in the country until 26 February.
The ODIHR mission also assessed the country's efforts to implement previous recommendations through changes in legislation, procedures and practices. For Germany, the ODIHR mission evaluated the follow-up to recommendations from the 2017 and the 2021 parliamentary elections, and concluded that 1 recommendation had been fully implemented and 4 partially addressed, while others are still outstanding. A full list can be found on p. 32 of today's report.
All 57 countries across the OSCE region have formally committed to follow up promptly on ODIHR's election assessments and recommendations. The ODIHR Electoral Recommendations Database tracks the extent to which recommendations are implemented by states across the OSCE region.
