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The CDU/CSU will remain the largest parliamentary group in the Bundestag in the new electoral term. In the Bundestag election on Sunday, 22 September 2013, the two parties together received 41.5 per cent of the second votes. The CDU won 34.1 per cent, while the Bavarian CSU won 7.4 per cent. That is an increase of 6.9 percentage points for the CDU and 0.9 percentage points for the CSU, compared to the election four years ago. For the first time since 1949, the FDP – the CDU/CSU’s coalition partner in the last electoral term – will not be represented in Parliament. Its total of 4.8 per cent of the second votes meant it fell short of the five per cent required to enter Parliament. Its share of the vote dropped by 9.8 percentage points compared to the 2009 election.
The SPD remains the second largest parliamentary group after receiving 25.7 per cent of the second votes, an increase of 2.7 percentage points. The third largest parliamentary group in the new Bundestag is the Left Party, which won 8.6 per cent of the second votes, 3.3 percentage points less than in 2009. With 8.4 per cent of the second votes – a decline of 2.3 percentage points – Alliance 90/The Greens remain the smallest parliamentary group. The new Alternative for Germany (AfD) party put in a strong showing, winning 4.7 per cent of the second votes in what was its first Bundestag election campaign, but failed to gain enough votes to enter Parliament.
In its 18th electoral term, the German Bundestag will have 630 Members – eight more than immediately after the Bundestag election on 27 September 2009, and ten more than at the end of the last electoral term. The CDU/CSU has won 311 seats, the SPD 192. The Left Party will have 64 seats, while Alliance 90/The Greens will have 63 Members.
The turnout was 71.5 per cent, slightly higher than four years ago, when the lowest turnout in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany was recorded: 70.8 per cent. There were already signs on Sunday afternoon that the turnout would be up, when the Federal Returning Officer, Roderich Egeler, announced in the Reichstag Building that 41.4 per cent of the electorate had voted by 2 p.m. That was 5.3 percentage points higher than at the same point in time on the day of the 2009 election.
Around 44.29 million people voted out of an electorate of 61.9 million. A total of 688,428 first votes and 587,178 second votes were invalid, meaning that 98.4 per cent of the first votes and 98.7 per cent of the second votes were valid.
Out of the 27 other parties which participated in the election, the Pirates received 2.2 per cent of the second votes, the NPD 1.3 per cent, the Freie Wähler one per cent, and the Tierschutzpartei and the ÖDP 0.3 per cent each.
The Republikaner, pro Deutschland and Die Partei all won 0.2 per cent of the second votes. The Rentner, BP, MLPD, Volksabstimmung and the Partei der Vernunft each received 0.1 per cent. (vom/23.09.2013).