The Left Party Demands the Right to Vote for All Foreigners Who Have Lived in Germany for Five Years

The Left faction in the Bundestag is calling for the introduction of a right to vote for foreigners in Germany. In a motion, it demands that in the future all people who have been legally resident in Germany for at least five years should be allowed to vote at the federal level, regardless of their nationality. In addition, the federal government should work together with the states to create a corresponding electoral law for state and local elections as well.

As justification, the parliamentary group refers to what it sees as a growing democratic deficit. Non-German citizens have so far been generally excluded from elections at the federal, state and mostly also municipal level in Germany, although many of them live, work, pay taxes and are directly affected by political action here permanently. This is “unacceptable” in view of the democratic principle of the Basic Law and does not do justice to Germany’s immigration character.

In the motion, the Left Party points out that, according to the Federal Statistical Office, a good 14 million people without German citizenship lived in Germany in 2025, including about five million EU citizens. The foreign resident population has been in Germany for an average of 15 years. Nevertheless, she is usually unable to participate in elections during this time.

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The motion is entitled “Introduce the right to vote for foreigners” and was introduced by MPs around Ferat Koçak and the parliamentary group Die Linke. It is signed by the parliamentary group chairmen Heidi Reichinnek and Sören Pellmann.

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