What are the tasks of the Bundestag?

The Bundestag is the parliament of the Federal Republic of Germany. Representatives of the people are MPs, who are elected for four years. The most important tasks of the Bundestag are the election of the Federal Chancellor, law-making and acting as a check on the government.

Why do voters have two votes?

The election system for the federal elections is that of a personalized proportional representation. Each voter sets two crosses on his or her ballot. The first vote decides which politician from his or her constituency will go to parliament as representative. Half of the seats in the Bundestag are assigned by these direct mandates; the other half by the state candidate lists of the parties. The political parties run candidates for the Bundestag in every federal state.

The voter gives his or her second vote to a party. The second vote has a greater weight because it defines the power relations in parliament: the number of seats for the individual parties.