Archive —
English
 
Subscribe to ACE Newsletter
These topic pages provide a quick overview and easy access to all content that can be found on ACE for any give topic of interest - weather encyclopaedia files, electoral materials, comparative data, consolidated replies, case studies, or other.

ELECTORAL FRAMEWORK

Legal Framework Boundary Delimitation Electoral Systems

ELECTORAL PARTICIPATION

Gender and Elections Parties and Candidates Disability and Elections Media and Elections Civic and Voter Education Direct Democracy

ELECTORAL MANAGEMENT

Electoral Management Cost of Elections

ELECTORAL INTEGRITY

Electoral Integrity Campaign Finance Measuring Electoral Quality Election Observation Electoral Assistance

ELECTORAL OPERATIONS

Voter Registration Voting Operations Voter Identification Results Management Out of Country Voting Elections and Technology Elections and Security
Countries
Encyclopaedia Electoral Materials Comparative Data Election Calendar Observation Portal BRIDGE Extended Learning Latest Updates
Ask the Experts Consolidated Replies Find An Expert Access ACE Practitioners' Workspace
About ACE The History of ACE Contact ACE ACE Partners Practitioners' Network FAQ
Document Actions

Media and Elections

Germany Germany

ME037

Criteria for allocating free broadcast time
Question:What are the criteria for allocating free broadcast time and/or free printed advertisement space to political parties?
Answer(s): i. Not applicable
Comments: Any political party taking part in elections for the German Bundestag shall, subject to cost reimbursement, be granted a reasonable amount of transmission time if at least one state list of candidates has been approved for that party. Furthermore, any party or other political association taking part in the election of candidates from the Federal Republic of Germany for the European Parliament is entitled to a reasonable amount of transmission time if at least one electoral list has been approved, subject to cost reimbursement.
Source: Interstate Broadcasting Agreement, Art. 42 https://germanlawarchive.iuscomp.org/?p=655#ToC51
Verified: 2025/03/11
(Found a mistake? Please let us know.)
ME059

Television debates
Question:Are televised debates between candidates or party representatives normally conducted?
Answer(s): b. Yes, in legislative elections
Comments: There are televised debates at the state level since 1997 and at the national level since 2002. During the campaign of the elections for the Bundestag 2002 a televised debate between the sitting Federal Chancellor and his challenger was conducted for the first time.
Source: Maier, J. and Jansen, C. 2015. When do candidates attack in election campaigns? Exploring the determinants of negative candidate messages in German televised debates. Party Politics (2015): 1354068815610966: http://ppq.sagepub.com/content/early/2015/10/13/1354068815610966.abstract (2017). Anstead, N. 2015. Media Policy Brief 13. Televised Debates in Parliamentary Democracies (2017). LSE:http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/66293/1/Anstead_A_Different_Beast%201.pdf
Verified: 2025/03/11
(Found a mistake? Please let us know.)
ME062

Blackout period for release of opinion poll results.
Question:What is the blackout period, if any, during which results of pre-election opinion polls may not be released to the public?
Answer: g. No information available
Comments: No legal regulations about such a blackout period.
Source:
Verified: 2025/03/11
(Found a mistake? Please let us know.)
ME080


Question:Is there a maximum amount that a political party is permitted to spend on paid advertising during a campaign period?
Answer: b. No
Comments: There are no legal provisions pertaining to election campaign advertising. On principle, the possibility to advertise is protected by Article 5 (1) (freedom of the press), Article 5 (3) (freedom of arts) and Article 21 (party privilege) of the Basic Constitutional Law. The Federal Returning Officer is not responsible for election campaign advertising and its legal assessment; he or she is committed to impartiality. It is the parties who are responsible for the content of their advertising. There are limits to such advertising, however, where banned political parties advertise or where election campaign advertising is liable for punishment; it is subject to generally applicable laws.
Source: https://www.bundeswahlleiter.de/en/service/glossar/w/wahlwerbung.html
Verified: 2025/03/11
(Found a mistake? Please let us know.)
The data on this page is continuously updated. Additional, but potentially outdated material is available here.