Bundesversammlung (Germany)
The Federal Assembly (Bundesversammlung) is a special body in the institutional system of Germany, convoked only for the purpose of selecting the Bundespräsident every five years. The Bundesversammlung is comprised by the entire Bundestag and an equal number of state delegates selected by the state parliaments especially for this purpose. Among them are not only politicians, but also celebrities and other prominent people.
Since 1979, the Bundesversammlung meets traditionally at May 23, the German constitution day.
It is chaired by the Speaker of the Bundestag and is dissolved once the elected president declares that he accepts his election which he can delay for up to two days (however, no president ever did so).
The procedure of the election of the Bundespräsident consists of - at the most - three secret written votes. If one of the first two votes ends with an absolute majority for one of the candidates, this candidate is elected immediately as Bundespräsident. If the first two votes do not lead to an absolute majority, a simple majority is sufficient in the third and last vote.
The last assembly of the Bundesversammlung was held on May 23 2004, when Horst Köhler was elected as the new Bundespräsident by the slight majority of 604 out of 1205 votes.
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