- Upcoming election
: On Sunday 8 March 2026, elections will be held to
elect 30 city
councillors and the full-time mayor.
- Nominating
bodies: Nominations may only be submitted by political parties and voter groups (nominating bodies). The definition of a political party is governed by the Political Parties Act. Voter groups are all other associations or groups of natural persons whose aim is to participate in local elections. Political parties and voter groups that are prohibited may not submit nominations.
- Call for nominations3.
1 Nominating bodies are invited to submit nominations. Nominations may be sent to the Returning Officer from the date of this notice, but no later than
Thursday, 8 January 2026 (59 days before polling day), at 6.00 pm, or handed in during normal office hours
at Kitizingen Town Hall, Kaiserstraße 13/15, Residents’ Registration Office.
Each nominator may submit only one nomination. 3
.2 If several valid nominations are submitted, the election
shall take place: a) for the Town Council in accordance with the principles of proportional representation; b
) for the Mayor in accordance with the principles of first-past-the-post voting, with the candidates being bound to the nominated individuals
.
3.3 If no valid nomination or only one valid nomination is submitted, the election
shall take place: a) for the City Council in accordance with the principles of first-past-the-post voting, b
) for the Lord
Mayor in accordance with the principles of first-past-the-post voting without being tied to the candidates.
- Eligibility for election as a
member of the City Council4.1 Any person is eligible for election to the office of a member of the City Council who, on polling
day:a) a) is a German national within the meaning of Article 116(1) of the Basic Law or a national of another Member State of the European Union;
b) has reached the age of 18;c) has had a residence in the municipality for at least three months, which need not be their main residence, or, without having a residence, habitually resides in the municipality. Anyone who has lost their eligibility to stand for election as a result of moving away but returns to the municipality within one year of moving away is eligible to stand for election upon their return.
4.2 A person who is ineligible to stand for election under Article 21(2) of the Local Government Election Act (GLKrWG) is excluded from eligibility to stand for election
- Eligibility for the office of Lord Mayor5
.1 Any person is eligible for the office of Lord Mayor who, on polling
day:a) a
) is a German national within the meaning of Article 116(1) of the Basic Law;
b) has reached the age of 18;c) if standing for election as mayor, has had a residence in the municipality for at least three months, which need not be their principal residence, or, without having a residence, habitually resides in the municipality. Anyone who has lost their eligibility to stand for election as a result of moving away but returns to the municipality within one year of moving away shall be eligible to stand for election again upon their return. A person who has neither a residence nor their habitual residence in the municipality may also be elected as mayor.
5.2 A person who is ineligible for election under Article 39(2) of the GLKrWG is excluded from eligibility.
- Nomination
meetings6.1 All candidates are nominated by a party or an electoral group at a meeting convened for this purpose for the entire constituency.
This nomination meeting shall be:
a) a meeting of the supporters of a party or electoral group;
b) a special meeting of delegates elected by members of a party or electoral group for the forthcoming nomination of candidates; or
c) a general assembly of delegates convened in accordance with the constitution of a party or electoral group for the purpose of upcoming elections.
The majority of the members of a general assembly of delegates must not have been elected more than two years prior to the month in which polling day falls by members of a party or a voter group who were eligible to vote in the constituency at the time of the election of the delegates.
The participants in the nomination meeting must be eligible to vote in the constituency at the time of the meeting. The nomination meeting must not take place earlier than 15 months before the month in which polling day falls.
Candidates shall be elected by secret ballot. Any person entitled to attend and present at the nomination meeting is entitled to propose candidates. Candidates standing for nomination must be given the opportunity to present themselves and their programme to the meeting in good time.
6.2 Substitutes who move up the list of candidates in the event of a candidate withdrawing must be nominated in the same manner as candidates.
6.3 Several nominating bodies may submit joint nominations. Joint nominations must be put forward at a joint meeting (for mayoral elections, see also No. 6.5). The details are to be agreed upon by the nominating bodies.
6.4 In city council elections, the assembly may decide that candidates should be listed twice or three times on the ballot paper.
6.5 Special provisions for mayoral elections:
If a candidate is to be nominated by several nominating bodies as a joint candidate, the following procedures are possible:
6.5.1 The candidate is nominated at a joint nomination
meeting of the parties and voter groups submitting a joint nomination.
6.5.2 The parties and the electoral groups nominate a candidate in separate meetings and submit separate nominations. A candidate nominated by more than one meeting must declare in writing to the Returning Officer whether they wish to stand as a joint candidate or, if this option has been decided upon, whether they do not wish to stand on all nominations.
- Minutes of the meeting7
.1 Minutes must be taken of the nomination meeting. The minutes must clearly state:
a) The proper notice of the nomination meeting,
b) the place and time of the nomination meeting,
c) the number of participants,
d) in the case of a general delegates’ meeting, a statement that the majority of delegates were elected no earlier than two years prior to the month in which the election day falls by members of a party or a voter group who were eligible to vote in the constituency at the time of the delegates’ election,
e) the proceedings of the nomination meeting,
f) the electoral procedure by which the candidates were elected,
g) the results of the election of the candidates, their order of ranking and any instances where they appear more than once,
h) the manner in which candidates who have withdrawn are to be replaced, provided that the nomination meeting has nominated substitutes.
7.2 The minutes must be signed by the person chairing the nomination meeting and two eligible voters who attended the meeting. Each eligible voter may sign only one set of minutes. Candidates may also sign the minutes if they have attended the meeting.
7.3 The minutes must be accompanied by an attendance list in which those eligible voters who attended the meeting have entered their names, addresses and signatures.
7.4 The minutes, together with the attendance list, must be enclosed with the nomination.
- Contents of nomination
lists8.1 In city council elections, each nomination list may contain no more candidates than the number of city councillors to be elected.
In our municipality, therefore, a nomination list may contain no more than 30 candidates. If candidates are listed more than once on the nomination list, the number of candidates is reduced accordingly.
Candidates may only stand in one constituency in elections for a similar office held on the same day. They may only be named on one list of candidates in an election. In mayoral elections, each list of candidates may contain only one candidate.
8.2 Each list of candidates must bear the name of the party or voter group as its designation. Joint nomination lists must bear the names of all parties or voter groups involved. Abbreviations in which the name of the party or voter group is expressed solely by a sequence of letters or in some other manner are sufficient as a designation. The code name must be accompanied by a further designation if this is necessary to clearly distinguish between the nominations.
If a nomination is submitted without a code name, the name of the nominator shall serve as the code name; in the case of a joint nomination, the names of all participating parties or voter groups in the order listed in the nomination shall serve as the code name. If joint but separately submitted nominations for the mayoral election contain no password or no common password, the passwords of the nominations in alphabetical order shall be deemed to be the common password.
8.3 Organised voter groups must submit proof of their organisation if they are to be treated as such.
8.4 Each nomination shall designate a representative and their deputy, who must be eligible to vote in the municipality. If no such designation is provided, the first signatory shall be deemed the representative and the second their deputy. The representative is authorised to make and receive binding declarations regarding the nomination. In case of doubt, the statement of the authorised representative shall prevail.
8.5 Each nomination must contain the details of all candidates in a recognisable order, in accordance with the list in the minutes of the nomination meeting, including surname, first name, date of birth, gender, occupation or status, and address.
8.6 The following may be stated
:a) maiden names, if the name has changed within two years prior to election day,
b) honorary municipal offices and offices provided for in the Basic Law and the Constitution, if these are to be included on the ballot paper. These include, in particular: honorary first, second or third mayor, honorary first, second or third mayor, city councillor, deputy district administrator, district councillor, district council president, deputy district council president, district councillor, Member of the European Parliament, Member of the Bundestag, Member of the Landtag.Candidates to be
listed three times shall appear on the ballot paper before those to be listed twice, and the latter before the remaining candidates.
8.7 The candidate must declare that they consent to the inclusion of their name in the nomination and that, in elections for a similar office taking place on the same day, they will stand in only one constituency. If multiple nominations are identified, the candidate must, upon request, inform the returning officer which nomination is to be considered valid. If they fail to provide this information or if the information provided is contradictory, the nominations shall be declared invalid.
The candidate must also declare that they are not disqualified from standing for election.
8.8 A nomination for the election of a full-time Lord Mayor must also, if the candidate has neither a residence nor their habitual residence in the constituency, include a certificate from the local authority in which the candidate has their residence (which need not be their principal residence) or, if they have no residence, their habitual residence, confirming their eligibility to stand for election.
The same applies to substitutes.
8.9 A nomination for the election of the City Council or the Lord Mayor must, if the person does not wish to stand in the municipality in which they have their sole residence or their main residence, include a certificate from that municipality – or, in the case of persons without a residence, from the municipality of their last residence – stating that they are not excluded from eligibility. The municipality may issue this certificate only once.
The same applies to substitutes.
- Signing of nomination papers
: Each nomination paper must be signed by ten eligible voters who are entitled to vote on 19 January 2026 (the 48th day before polling day). Candidates or their substitutes are not permitted to sign a nomination paper. Signatures on the nomination paper must be written in the signatory’s own hand. Signatories must provide their surname, first name and address and be eligible to vote in the municipality. Each eligible voter may sign only one nomination. The withdrawal of individual signatures, the loss of voting rights or the death of a signatory to the nomination does not affect the validity of the nomination.
- Lists of supporters for candidate
nominations10.1 Candidate nominations submitted by new nominating bodies must not only be signed by ten eligible voters, but must also be supported by at least 190 eligible voters through signatures on lists made available at the local authority or the administrative association. New candidates are parties and voter groups which have not been continuously represented in the city council since the last election on the basis of their own nomination until the 90th day before election day; however, they do not require additional supporting signatures if, in the last state election or the last European Parliament election, they received at least five per cent of the total valid votes cast in the state, or, in the last federal election, at least five per cent of the valid second votes cast in the state. The results announced by the State Returning Officer more than three months before election day shall be decisive.
A joint nomination does not require additional supporting signatures if the nominators as a whole have been represented on the city council since its last election on the basis of the same joint nomination up to the 90th day before election day, or if at least one of the participating nominators does not require additional supporting signatures.
10.2 The following persons may not sign the list of supporters:
a) the candidates and substitutes listed on a nomination,
b) eligible voters who have signed another list of supporters,
c) eligible voters who have signed a nomination.
10.3 During the registration periods, any obstruction or significant hindrance to those registering is prohibited in the building where the registration room is located, as well as immediately outside the entrance to the building.
10.4 The withdrawal of valid signatures is ineffective.
10.5 Details regarding registration periods, registration offices, opening hours and the issue of registration certificates to sick persons or people with physical disabilities shall be announced separately by the local authority.
- Withdrawal of election nominations
: The withdrawal of election nominations in their entirety is only permitted until 6.00 pm on 8 January 2026 (the 59th day before polling day). The nominators shall decide on the withdrawal of election nominations in their entirety in the same manner as they decide on the submission of election nominations. The nominated person may be required by the nomination meeting to withdraw the election nomination under certain conditions.
Kitzingen, 17
November 2025 CITY OF KITZINGEN