2027 Mayoral Election

The following may submit nominations for the election of the Lord Mayor:

• Political parties
• voter associations, whether organised on a membership basis or not
• Individuals (independent candidates)
  

Each nominating body (party, voters’ association, independent candidate) may submit only one nomination.

Only one candidate may be nominated in each nomination form (Section 41(1) and (2) of the Local Elections Act (KomWG)).

In accordance with Section 2 of the Political Parties Act (ParteiG), political parties are associations of citizens which, on a permanent or long-term basis, seek to influence the formation of political will at federal or state level and to participate in the representation of the people in the German Bundestag or a state parliament, provided that, based on the overall picture of the actual circumstances – in particular the scope and stability of their organisation, the number of their members and their public profile – they offer sufficient assurance of the seriousness of this objective. Pursuant to Section 2(2) of the Political Parties Act (ParteiG), a party loses its legal status as a party, amongst other things, if it has not taken part in either a Bundestag election or a state parliament election with its own list of candidates for a period of six years. A party’s constitution, programme, name and regional associations must be notified to the Federal Returning Officer.

Voters’ associations are groups of individuals formed to pursue local political objectives.

A distinction is made between voter associations organised on a membership basis and those organised without a membership basis .

• A voters’ association is organised on a membership basis if it has laid down in its constitution the minimum provisions necessary for its organisation, in particular regarding its name and registered office, admission and resignation (membership formalities), as well as the governing bodies and purpose of the association.
  
  Note:

  An association that was actually founded for a different purpose can only be a voters’ association if it also pursues local political objectives in accordance with its articles of association. This presupposes that local political objectives must be demonstrably enshrined in the association’s articles of association.
  

• A voters’ association that is not organised on a membership basis operates without a fixed organisational structure – it is a loose grouping of at least three people entitled to vote; a programme or articles of association are not required.

Candidate nominations for the election of the Lord Mayor will be submitted for the election on 5 September 2027 and, at the same time, for any necessary second round of voting on 26 September 2027. Those submitting nominations are free to withdraw approved nominations within one week of the election on 5 September 2027, if necessary, in preparation for a second round of voting.

Political parties and membership-based voters’ associations

• Only those who

  • at a meeting of members who are eligible to vote in the electoral area at the time of the meeting (general meeting) or
  • at a meeting of representatives elected from among the members by a general meeting (representatives’ meeting)

  
  have been elected for this purpose by secret ballot.
  
  Note:
  The local branches of political parties or membership-based voters’ associations sometimes differ from the electoral district (City of Chemnitz). Even where the organisational structures of the bodies nominating candidates differ in this way, all members who are eligible to vote in the electoral district must be invited to the nomination meeting.
  

• The meetings to nominate candidates may take place from 25 October 2026 at the earliest.
  
• If a candidate is nominated by a members’ or representatives’ meeting before this date, the nomination is seriously flawed, which would subsequently lead to the nomination being rejected.
  
• The electoral area for the election of the Lord Mayor is the city of Chemnitz. The area is not subdivided into constituencies.
  
• Members attending the meeting must be eligible to vote at the time the Members’ or Representatives’ Meeting convenes.
  
• A members’ or representatives’ meeting always requires the participation of at least three members of the party or voters’ association who are eligible to vote within the electoral area; otherwise, the requirements for the term ‘meeting’ are not met, and the necessary secret ballots cannot be guaranteed if only two people are present.
  
• Every participant in the meeting who is entitled to vote is entitled to nominate candidates; statutory rights to nominate candidates remain unaffected.
  
• Candidates must be given a suitable opportunity to present themselves and their platform to the meeting.
  
• The parties and voters’ associations shall lay down in their constitutions the detailed provisions governing the election of representatives to the Assembly of Representatives, the convening and quorum of the General Assembly or the Assembly of Representatives, and the procedure for the secret ballot of candidates.
  
• Attendance at the members’ or representatives’ meeting is compulsory. It is not permitted to hold the meeting in a hybrid format or as an online meeting.
  
• Together with the nomination to be submitted at a later date, minutes of the election of the candidate must be submitted, containing details of the venue, nature and time of the meeting, the number of eligible voters present and the result of the election. In this regard, the chair of the meeting and two participants entitled to vote must affirm on oath that the election of the candidate took place by secret ballot and that the candidates were given the opportunity to present themselves and their programme to the meeting.

Voters’ associations not organised on a membership basis

• Only those who have been elected by a secret ballot by a majority of the members present at a meeting of the eligible members of such a non-membership-based voters’ association may be nominated as candidates in a nomination.
  
• Meetings to nominate candidates may take place from 25 October 2026 at the earliest.
  
• If a candidate is nominated by a meeting prior to this date, the list of candidates will contain a serious defect which would subsequently lead to the list being rejected.
  
• The electoral area for the election of the Lord Mayor is the city of Chemnitz. The area is not divided into constituencies.
  
• Members of the electoral association who attend the meeting must be eligible to vote at the time the meeting convenes.
  
• A meeting of eligible members always requires the participation of at least three members of the voters’ association who are eligible to vote within the electoral area; otherwise, the requirements for the term ‘meeting’ are not met and the necessary secret ballot cannot be guaranteed if only two people are present.
  
• Every participant in the meeting who is entitled to vote is entitled to put forward nominations.
  
• Candidates must be given a suitable opportunity to present themselves and their programme to the meeting.
  
• Attendance is compulsory for the meeting of members entitled to vote. The meeting may not be held in a hybrid format or as an online meeting.
  
• Together with the nomination to be submitted at a later date, minutes of the election of the candidate must be submitted, containing details of the venue, nature and time of the meeting, the number of members entitled to vote who were present, and the result of the election. In this regard, the chair of the meeting and two participants entitled to vote must affirm in lieu of an oath that the election of the candidate took place by secret ballot and that the candidates were given the opportunity to present themselves and their programme to the meeting.

Individual candidates

• For individual candidates, there is no requirement to hold a meeting to nominate the candidate.

Joint nominations by several nominating bodies

• Several nominating bodies (parties, voters’ associations) may also submit a joint nomination.
  
• To this end, each of the participating parties and/or voters’ associations must carry out its own independent nomination procedure for the candidate.
  
• In addition to the option of holding separate nomination meetings for the nominating bodies involved, it is also possible to hold a jointly organised members’ or representatives’ meeting, provided that the constitutions of the respective parties involved permit this.
  
• However, the necessary secret ballots for the binding nomination of the candidate on the joint nomination must then be conducted separately and independently of one another by all the nominating bodies involved.
  
• All participating nominating bodies must draw up their own separate minutes of the members’ or representatives’ meeting or the meeting of members entitled to vote, and submit their own corresponding statutory declarations.

When and how can nominations be submitted?

• Submission period:
  
  Nominations may be submitted no earlier than the day after the announcement of the election (expected to be published in the Chemnitz Official Gazette at the end of May 2027) and must be received in full by 1 July 2027, 6.00 pm, in writing and in the original, to the Chair of the City Electoral Committee.
  
• Nomination forms and/or their annexes may not be submitted in electronic form or by fax.
  
• The documents to be submitted with the nomination comprise
  • the nomination,
  • the candidate’s irrevocable declaration of consent,
  • the minutes of the general meeting of members or representatives, or the meeting of members entitled to vote, at which the candidate was nominated (not applicable in the case of individual candidates),
  • the relevant statutory declaration (not required in the case of individual candidates),
  • the articles of association (only for membership-based electoral associations and political parties whose party documents have not been filed with the Federal Returning Officer in accordance with Section 6(3) of the Political Parties Act),
  • the candidate’s written declaration to the chairperson of the municipal electoral committee confirming that they meet the general personal requirements for appointment to the civil service in accordance with Section 49(1), first sentence, of the Saxon Municipal Code,
  • the certificates of electoral eligibility of the three signatories to the nomination (only in the case of voter associations not organised on a membership basis)
  • a statutory declaration in lieu of an oath in accordance with Section 6a(3) of the Local Government Act (KomWG) (only for foreign candidates)
    
• All documents must be submitted in the prescribed form and within the specified time limit during the submission period.
  
• The required forms are made available by the electoral authority for download or on request.
  

• Each list of candidates must be endorsed by 200 eligible voters in the electoral area (the city of Chemnitz) who are not candidates on that list – supporting signatures.
  
• Voters must be eligible to vote at the time of signing the nomination. This will be verified by the City of Chemnitz.
  

• Exempt from the requirement to provide supporting signatures are electoral nominations put forward by a political party or voters’ association which, by virtue of its own electoral nomination,

  • in the Saxon State Parliament or
  • in the Chemnitz City Council since the last city council election
    

  are represented.
  
  Furthermore, a list of candidates does not require supporting signatures if it includes the current office-holder as a candidate.
  

• The following parties are currently represented in the Saxon State Parliament:
  CDU, AfD, BSW, SPD, the Greens, The Left, Free Voters
  

• The following parties have been represented on Chemnitz City Council since the last regular local elections:
  CDU, AfD, SPD, DIE LINKE, the Greens, PRO CHEMNITZ & FREIE SACHSEN, BSW, FDP, Die PARTEI

  
  Note:
  Whether a party or voters’ association is deemed to be ‘represented’ depends on its previous electoral success, not on the membership of individual elected representatives. For example, if a member of a party or electoral association was elected in the 2024 local elections on the electoral list of a party or electoral association, they confer this privilege on that party or electoral association and that party or electoral association alone, even if they subsequently resign or switch to another party or electoral association. If an elected representative only becomes a member of another party or electoral association during the electoral term, this does not result in that party being granted the privilege under Section 6b(3) of the Local Elections Act.

• To be exempt from the requirement to provide supporting signatures, lists of candidates put forward by a non-membership-based voters’ association require, in addition to the provisions set out above, the signatures of the majority of those elected for that voters’ association, who are members of the City Council at the time the list of candidates is submitted.
  
• A joint list of candidates submitted by several parties and/or voters’ associations requires supporting signatures if at least one of the participating parties or associations would require them for its own list.
  
• In the case of separate lists of candidates submitted by candidates who were part of a joint list of candidates in the previous City Council election, that joint list of candidates from the previous election does not count as a separate list of candidates for the purposes of independent representation on the City Council, i.e. such separate election proposals require supporting signatures.
  
• A nomination submitted by an individual candidate generally requires supporting signatures.

Procedure for providing signatures

• The required list of supporting signatures for a nomination shall be made available to the chair of the Municipal Electoral Committee immediately upon its submission to the Town Hall at the location specified in the notice announcing the conduct of the election.
  
• Signatures of support may then be provided until the deadline for submitting nominations on 1 July 2027 at 18:00 (the 66th day before the election, at 18:00).
  
• The City of Chemnitz will verify the identity and eligibility to vote when the signature is provided or thereafter.
  
• Eligible voters must provide their supporting signature in person during the general and published opening hours. This location for providing the signature is mandatory.
  
• Signatures that are not provided in accordance with the procedure described above are invalid.

For further information, please refer to Sections 6, 6a–6e, 38 and 41 of the KomWG and Sections 16 et seq. of the SächsKomWO, or contact the Electoral Authority at

Electoral Authority
Address: Bahnhofstraße 53
Tel. 0371 488 1830 or 0371 488 7474
Email: wahlbehoerde(at)stadt-chemnitz.de

In accordance with Section 16 of the Saxon Municipal Code (SächsGemO), all citizens of the city of Chemnitz are eligible to vote in the election of the Lord Mayor.

Citizens of the city of Chemnitz within the meaning of Section 15 of the Saxon Municipal Code (SächsGemO) are German nationals within the meaning of Article 116(1) of the Basic Law or nationals of another Member State of the European Union who

• have reached the age of 18 and
• have had their main residence in Chemnitz for at least three months prior to polling day.

In accordance with Section 16 of the Saxon Municipal Code (SächsGemO), persons who, as a result of a court ruling, do not possess the right to stand for election or the right to vote are not eligible to vote.

The right to stand for election is known as the right to be elected.

German nationals within the meaning of Article 116 of the Basic Law and nationals of other Member States of the European Union

• who have reached the age of 18 and
• who meet the general personal requirements for appointment to the civil service in accordance with Section 7 of the Civil Service Status Act of 17 June 2008 (Federal Law Gazette I, p. 1010), as last amended by Article 5 of the Act of 20 December 2023 (Federal Law Gazette 2023 I No. 389).

A person who has reached the age of 65 is not eligible for election to the office of full-time Lord Mayor .

A person is ineligible if they are excluded from eligibility for election to the city council in accordance with Section 31(2) of the Saxon Municipal Code (SächsGemO).

Furthermore, the following persons are ineligible for election:

1. any person who has been removed from the civil service, whose pension has been revoked, or against whom a corresponding measure has been imposed in proceedings equivalent to disciplinary proceedings by the European Union, in another Member State of the European Union or in another State party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area, or
2. any person who, as a result of an intentional offence, has been sentenced by a German court or by the judicial authorities of another Member State of the European Union or another State Party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area to a term of imprisonment which, in the case of a civil servant, would result in the loss of civil service rights, for a period of five years following the date on which the measure or decision becomes final.
   

Staff members of the legal supervisory authorities may not simultaneously hold the office of Lord Mayor.

The Lord Mayor may not simultaneously be any other employee of the City of Chemnitz or the mayor of another local authority.