TestZen · Einbürgerungstest · Practice

113. Elections in Germany are won by the party that …

Official German wording

Wahlen in Deutschland gewinnt die Partei, die …

  1. die meisten Stimmen bekommt.
  2. die meisten Männer mehrheitlich gewählt haben.
  3. die meisten Stimmen bei den Arbeitern / Arbeiterinnen bekommen hat.
  4. die meisten Erststimmen für ihren Kanzlerkandidaten / ihre Kanzlerkandidatin erhalten hat.

Answer options

  1. receives the most votes.
  2. has been elected by a majority of men.
  3. has received the most votes among workers.
  4. has obtained the most first votes (Erststimmen) for its candidate for Federal Chancellor.

Correct answer

receives the most votes.

Explanation

Under Article 38(1) of the Basic Law (GG), Bundestag elections are general, direct, free, equal, and secret; in the mixed-member proportional system, the decisive metric for “winning” is the number of second votes, on the basis of which seats are allocated via the Sainte-Laguë/Schepers method (Section 6 BWahlG). First votes determine only constituency seats and are unrelated to any chancellor election; the Federal Chancellor is elected by the Bundestag (Art. 63 GG). Favoring particular voter categories (e.g., men or workers) would violate electoral equality. Politically, the party with the most votes is deemed the winner, but forming a government requires a parliamentary majority, typically via coalitions.

Official sources

The German questions come from the original BAMF catalog for the Einbürgerungstest and Leben in Deutschland. Translations and explanations are study aids; verify legal details in the official sources.