Elections

Candidates are elected on the basis of nominations by political parties and voter groups. Candidates therefore cannot stand for election themselves, but must be nominated by a party or group of voters.

In mayoral and district council elections, each nomination may only contain one candidate.

Irrespective of the size of the municipality or district, in municipal and district council elections each nomination may contain no more candidates than the number of honorary municipal or district council members to be elected. Only in the case of a majority election, i.e. if only a single nomination has been submitted in the constituency, may the number of candidates be increased to twice the number of municipal council or district council members to be elected. The parties and electoral groups determine the selection and order of the candidates in nomination meetings.

No specific organizational form is prescribed for electoral groups. Loose associations of eligible voters can therefore also act as electoral groups and submit nominations.

The Chief Electoral Officer shall first make the nominations submitted public in the usual manner no later than on the 58th day before the election day (January 9, 2026). Thereafter, the nominations approved for the election are published in the usual manner no later than on the 22nd day before the election day (February 3, 2026).

All eligible voters who are registered for a residence in a municipality in Bavaria on the 42nd day before the election (January 25, 2026) will be officially entered in the electoral register and will receive a postal voting notification from their municipality no later than three weeks before the election (February 15, 2026). Anyone who has not received an election notification by then but believes they are entitled to vote should contact the electoral office of their municipality immediately. Under no circumstances should you wait until election day to clarify your right to vote.