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Section 34
 

Content and Form of Constituency Nominations


(1) The constituency nomination is to be submitted in accordance with the specimen at Annex 13. It must contain


1. the surname, the forenames, the occupation or status, the date of birth, the place of birth and the address (main residence) of the candidate,


2. the name of the submitting party and the shortened form of its name if it uses such a form or, in the case of other constituency nominations (Section 20 subsection (3) of the Federal Elections Act), their identifying word.


It shall also contain the names and addresses of the spokesperson and the deputy spokesperson.


(2) Constituency nominations by parties must bear the personal handwritten signatures of at least three members of the executive committee of the Land branch, including that of the chairperson or his or her deputy. If a party has no Land branch or no unified Land organization in the Land in question, the constituency nominations must be signed in accordance with the first sentence by the executive committees of the next lower regional branches in whose area the constituency is situated. The signatures of the submitting executive committee shall suffice if it certifies within the period stipulated for submissions that the Land Returning Officer has received a written authority in accordance with the first sentence above from the other participating executive committees.


(3) For other constituency nominations, three signatories of the nomination must sign the constituency nomination themselves (Annex 13). Subsection (4) numbers 3 and 4 shall apply as appropriate.


(4) If a constituency nomination must be signed by at least two hundred persons in the constituency who are eligible to vote, such signatures shall be submitted on official forms as per Annex 14, the following provisions being observed:


1. The forms shall be supplied free of charge by the Constituency Returning Officer on request, they may be provided also as a master copy or electronically.


The request must contain the surname, forenames and address (main residence) of the prospective candidate. If, together with the request, evidence is furnished that a blocking note relating to the candidate has been entered in the population register in accordance with Section 51 subsection (1) of the Federal Registration Act, an address where the candidate may be contacted shall be used instead of his or her address (main residence); indicating a post office box shall not be sufficient. As the designation of the nominating body which intends to submit the constituency nomina-tion, if that body is a political party, its name, and the shortened form of its name if it uses such a form, must also be entered; other constituency nominations must bear their identifying word. In addition, parties must confirm that their candidate has been selected at an assembly of party members or at a special or general assembly of delegates held in accordance with Section 21 of the Federal Elections Act. The Constituency Returning Officer must record the information specified in the second to forth sentences above at the heads of the forms.


2. The persons eligible to vote who sponsor a constituency nomination must affix their personal handwritten signatures to the declaration on the form; beside the signa-ture, the surname, forenames, date of birth and address (main residence) of the signatory as well as the date of signature are to be entered. Persons eligible to vote as defined in Section 12 subsection (2), first sentence, of the Federal Elections Act are to certify their right to vote by submitting the information specified at Annex 2 and by giving an affirmation in lieu of an oath.


3. For each signatory, certification by the local authority of the municipality in whose voters’ register he or she is registered shall be entered on the form or drawn up separately to the effect that at the time of signature he or she is eligible to vote in the constituency in question. Separate certificates of enfranchisement are to be appended to the supporting signatures by the nominating body on submission of the constituency nomination. Anyone who applies for a certificate of eligibility to vote on another person’s behalf must certify that the person concerned sponsors the nomination.


4. A person eligible to vote may sign only one constituency nomination; if anyone signs more than one constituency nomination, their signature shall be invalid on all other nominations.


5. Constituency nominations from parties may only be signed after selection of the candidate by an assembly of members or delegates. Previous signatures shall be invalid.


(5) The constituency nomination must be accompanied by


1. the declaration by the nominated candidate, in accordance with the specimen at Annex 15, that he or she shall accept election and has not given his or her consent to nomination as a candidate in any other constituency,


2. certification by the competent local authority of the municipality, in accordance with the specimen at Annex 16, that the nominated candidate is eligible for politi-cal office,


3. for constituency nominations by parties,


a) a copy of the record documenting the decision taken by the assembly of party members or delegates at which the candidate was elected, as well as, in the event of an objection pursuant to Section 21 subsection (4) of the Federal Elections Act, also a copy of the record of the repeated vote, with the affirmation in lieu of an oath prescribed in Section 21 subsection (6), second sentence, of the Federal Elections Act; the record should be drawn up in accordance with the specimen at Annex 17 and the affirmation in lieu of an oath given in accordance with the specimen at Annex 18;


b) an affirmation in lieu of an oath of the proposed candidate towards the Constituency Returning Officer in accordance with the specimen at Annex 15, stating that he or she is not a member of any party other than the one submitting the nomination; for receiving the affirmation in lieu of an oath, Section 21 subsection (6), third sentence, of the Federal Elections Act shall apply accordingly,


4. the requisite number of supporting signatures, together with certificates of eligibility to vote for the signatories (subsection (4) numbers 2 and 3) if the constituency nomination must be signed by at least two hundred persons in the constituency who are eligible to vote.


(6) The certificate of eligibility to vote (subsection (4) number 3) and the certificate of eligibility for political office (subsection (5) number 2) shall be issued free of charge. The local authority may only issue the certificate of eligibility to vote to each person eligible to vote once for a constituency nomination; it must not keep any record showing that the certificate issued relates to a particular nomination.


(7) For candidates who have no domicile in the Federal Republic of Germany and are not otherwise habitually resident there, the Federal Minister of the Interior shall issue the certificate of eligibility for political office. It shall be applied for at the diplomatic or fulltime consular mission of the Federal Republic of Germany responsible for the candidate's place of residence or directly, the necessary certificates being submitted.