Germany
Description of Electoral System
Germany elects on federal level a legislature. The parliament has two chambers. The Federal Diet (Bundestag) nominally has 598 members, elected for a four year term, 299 members elected in single-seat constituencies according to first-past-the-post, while a further 299 members are allocated from statewide party lists to achieve a proportional distribution in the legislature. The Federal Council (Bundesrat) has 69 members representing the governments of the states. Elections are conducted every 4 years, with the exact date of the election chosen by the outgoing government.