Constituency Commission and Delimitation of Constituencies
(1) The following principles must be observed in the division of the electoral area into constituencies:
1. The Länder boundaries must be respected.
2. The number of constituencies in the individual Länder must correspond, as far as possible, to their share of the population. The number is calculated in accordance with section 5.
3. The population in a constituency should not be more than fifteen percent above or below the average figure for all constituencies; in cases where the difference is greater than twenty-five percent, the constituency boundaries must be redrawn.
4. Each constituency should form a coherent area.
5. The boundaries of the municipalities, districts and urban districts are respected, where possible.
Foreigners (section 2, subsection (1) of the Residence Act) are not taken into account in the determination of population figures.
(2) The Federal President appoints a permanent Constituency Commission. It consists of the President of the Federal Statistical Office, a judge from the Federal Administrative Court, and five other members.
(3) The Constituency Commission is responsible for reporting on changes in population figures in the electoral area and for stating what changes, if any, it considers necessary in the division of the electoral area into constituencies. In its report, it may also propose changes for other reasons. When making its proposals concerning the division of the electoral area into constituencies, it must observe the principles specified in subsection (1); if the calculation in subsection (1) number 2 produces several possible divisions, the Commission prepares corresponding proposals.
(4) The report of the Constituency Commission must be submitted to the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community within fifteen months of the beginning of the Bundestag legislative term. The Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community forwards it to the Bundestag without delay and publishes a notice in the Federal Gazette concerning its publication as a Bundestag printed paper. At the request of the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community, the Constituency Commission must submit a supplementary report; in such case, the second sentence applies accordingly.
(5) Whenever Land boundaries are altered in accordance with the statutory provisions governing the procedure for other changes regarding the territory of the Länder pursuant to Article 29 paragraph (7) of the Basic Law, the boundaries of the constituencies affected are also modified accordingly. When two or more constituencies are affected in the incorporating Land or where an exclave of a Land is formed, the new part of the Land belongs to the constituency of the municipality, the municipal district, or the non-municipal area to which it has been added. Changes to Land boundaries which are made after the end of the thirty-second month following the commencement of the legislative term only affect the division into constituencies in the subsequent legislative term.