The parliamentary groups in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania’s state parliament have drawn up their nominations for the Federal Convention to elect Germany’s next head of state. NDR reported this on 11 November 2026. The state parliament is due to appoint the state’s 13 electors on 16 November. The Federal Convention will meet in Berlin in summary.
According to the report, the nominees include not only MPs but also people from culture, business and voluntary work. The SPD reportedly nominated, among others, Rostock comedian Roger G. and firefighter Elisa Brückner from Torgelow. Minister-President Manuela Schwesig and SPD parliamentary group leader Julian Barlen.
According to NDR, the AfD is relying, among others, on members of its state parliamentary group and Rostock entrepreneurs Jonas Wieben and Karsten Natzius. According to the report, The Left is proposing nurse and works council chair Fanny Jarmer from Demmin, while the Greens have nominated their state MP Ole Krüger. The state parliament will decide on the proposals; the parliamentary groups’ nominations do not constitute the final election.
That Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania It has already been decided that 13 members will be sent to the Federal Convention via the state parliament. The federal government published the figure in an official announcement on 16 September 2026. Members of the Bundestag, who belong to the convention by virtue of their mandate, are added to this number. The Bundestag and state parliaments therefore contribute to its composition in different ways: state parliaments elect additional members, while MPs in the Bundestag take part directly.
The Federal Convention consists of all members of the Bundestag and an equal number of people elected by the state parliaments. It has one task: to elect the Federal President. State parliaments may also appoint people who are not members of a parliament. This brings representatives of other areas of society into the electoral body alongside party politicians.
To succeed Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier the President of the Bavarian State Parliament, Ilse Aigner is standing. The CDU nominated the CSU politician on 9 November 2026. Schwesig had already spoken positively about Aigner. According to NDR, Schwesig and Barlen intend to support her. However, the decision on who becomes head of state will not be made until the Federal Convention meets.
The party-political make-up of the electors is important to the balance of support. However, it is not possible to predict individual votes with certainty from a parliamentary group’s nomination: voting in the Federal Convention is secret. For Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the immediate next step is the state parliament’s decision on the proposed candidates.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).