The Federal Republic of Germany is organized as a federal state and parliamentary democracy, and the German constitution or "Basic Law" is clear: "the people vote" ("das Volk wählt"). But who are "the people"?

Around 59.2 million Germans in Germany will be eligible to vote in the upcoming federal election on February 23, according to the Federal Statistical Office.

However, around 10 million people living in Germany will be unable to have their say at the ballot box because they are not German citizens. In total, about 14% of the adult population in Germany — just under 60% of the adult population with an international background — will be excluded from voting on account of their nationality.

British-born activist Phil Butland used to be one of them. He moved to Germany back in the 1990s and first got involved in politics as part of the anti-globalization movement ATTAC, and until recently was a member of the Left party.

"For a long time my permanent residence has been Germany, my life has been in Germany, everything I do is in Germany and it was a bit of an anomaly not to be able to take part in elections there," he told DW.

After living outside of the United Kingdom for over 15 years, Butland lost his right to vote there. But he was reluctant to apply for German citizenship because he was unemployed at the time, and was told that German citizenship was only issued if he was earning above a certain amount.

"They have relaxed the rules now but if you don't have a job or you have a low-paying job the rules are still a lot harder than if you've got a well-paying job there. There is exclusion of poor people in most of these rules," he said.

The German government eased its rules around the granting of citizenship in January 2024, in an attempt to make Germany more attractive to skilled workers internationally and help to ease labor........

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