{
  "data": {
    "id": "germany-lower-saxony-2027",
    "country": "DE",
    "country_name": "Germany",
    "level": "regional",
    "subdivision": "DE-NI",
    "subdivision_name": "Lower Saxony",
    "date": "2027-09-26",
    "date_status": "declared",
    "kind": "regional",
    "conditional": null,
    "timezone": "Europe/Berlin",
    "status": "scheduled",
    "last_verified_at": "2026-09-30T12:00:00Z",
    "stale": false,
    "stale_reason": null,
    "provenance": {
      "from": "researcher agent 2026-09-30: Nds. Staatskanzlei press release of 11 Aug 2026; landeswahlleiter.niedersachsen.de (2027 page, 2022 final-result page, 2022 press releases No. 11 and LW 22/14, Landeswahlleitung page); NLWG §§1, 9, 33, 34 (schure.de consolidated text).",
      "licence": "CC BY 4.0 (Election Index)"
    },
    "url": "https://electionindex.org/election/germany-lower-saxony-2027",
    "races": [
      {
        "id": "landtag",
        "key": "germany-lower-saxony-2027/landtag",
        "name": "State Parliament (Landtag)",
        "body": "subnational-legislature",
        "seats": 135,
        "polls_close_utc": "2027-09-26T16:00:00Z",
        "authority": {
          "id": "de-ni-lwl",
          "name": "State Returning Officer of Lower Saxony",
          "name_local": "Niedersächsischer Landeswahlleiter",
          "role": "electoral-commission",
          "homepage": "https://landeswahlleiter.niedersachsen.de/",
          "results_index": null,
          "open_data": null
        },
        "status": "scheduled",
        "expected_stage_now": null,
        "observed": false,
        "final_observed": null,
        "final_expected": {
          "from": "2027-09-30T22:00:00Z",
          "by": "2027-10-15T21:59:59Z",
          "confidence": "precedent",
          "basis": "The Landeswahlausschuss, chaired by the State Returning Officer, determines the official result and allocates the list seats (NLWG §33). The returning officer then announces the names of those elected from the lists (§34). No statutory deadline for the committee's meeting was found in the NLWG text read, and the Niedersächsische Landeswahlordnung (NLWO) was not checked. 2022 precedent: the committee determined the official final result in a public session on 20 Oct 2022, 11 days after the 9 Oct vote (press release No. LW 22/14 and the 2022 final-result page). It amended the result in a further public session on 26 Oct 2022, 17 days after the vote. The opening (Friday 1 Oct 2027, 00:00 CEST) is an ESTIMATED floor. The window closes at the end of Friday 15 Oct 2027, CEST, 19 days after polling day and two days later than the 2022 amendment. Challenges go through the Landtag's election scrutiny procedure (Wahlprüfung), which does not delay the determination, so there is no court-validation stage."
        },
        "stages": [
          {
            "stage": "election-night",
            "from": "2027-09-26T16:00:00Z",
            "by": "2027-09-26T23:59:59Z",
            "replacedAt": "2027-09-30T22:00:00Z",
            "confidence": "precedent",
            "citation": "The state government's ordinance, adopted by the cabinet on Tuesday 11 Aug 2026, set polling day as Sunday 26 Sep 2027, 08:00-18:00 (State Chancellery press release of 11 Aug 2026). 18:00 CEST = 16:00 UTC. The State Returning Officer determines and announces the preliminary results for the state (Landeswahlleitung page: \"Ermittlung und Bekanntgabe der vorläufigen Wahlergebnisse im Land\"). 2022 precedent: polls closed at 18:00 on 9 Oct 2022, the first constituency result arrived at 19:48, and the preliminary official result (\"vorläufiges amtliches Endergebnis\") was presented at 23:23 CEST (press release No. 11). The window closes at 01:59 CEST on Monday 27 Sep 2027, about 2.5 hours later than in 2022. This is the preliminary count, not the official result. Seats: 135 is the legal minimum (NLWG §1(1)). Overhang and balance seats can raise it (§33(7)); the Landtag elected in 2022 has 146 members.",
            "source": null,
            "observedAt": null,
            "observedSource": null
          },
          {
            "stage": "final-result",
            "from": "2027-09-30T22:00:00Z",
            "by": "2027-10-15T21:59:59Z",
            "replacedAt": null,
            "confidence": "precedent",
            "citation": "The Landeswahlausschuss, chaired by the State Returning Officer, determines the official result and allocates the list seats (NLWG §33). The returning officer then announces the names of those elected from the lists (§34). No statutory deadline for the committee's meeting was found in the NLWG text read, and the Niedersächsische Landeswahlordnung (NLWO) was not checked. 2022 precedent: the committee determined the official final result in a public session on 20 Oct 2022, 11 days after the 9 Oct vote (press release No. LW 22/14 and the 2022 final-result page). It amended the result in a further public session on 26 Oct 2022, 17 days after the vote. The opening (Friday 1 Oct 2027, 00:00 CEST) is an ESTIMATED floor. The window closes at the end of Friday 15 Oct 2027, CEST, 19 days after polling day and two days later than the 2022 amendment. Challenges go through the Landtag's election scrutiny procedure (Wahlprüfung), which does not delay the determination, so there is no court-validation stage.",
            "source": null,
            "observedAt": null,
            "observedSource": null
          }
        ],
        "sources": [
          {
            "url": "https://landeswahlleiter.niedersachsen.de/startseite/wahlen/landtagswahl/landtagswahl_2027/landtagswahl-2027-249534.html",
            "role": "results-live",
            "kind": "other",
            "kindReason": "election page without a results marker",
            "resolvable": false,
            "origin": "race",
            "note": "The State Returning Officer's page for the 2027 Landtag election. On 30 Sep 2026 it has a heading and no content. In 2022 the preliminary and final results were posted in the Landtagswahl 2022 section of this site. No 2027 results URL is predicted.",
            "check": null
          },
          {
            "url": "https://landeswahlleiter.niedersachsen.de/startseite/wahlen/landtagswahl/landtagswahl_2022/endgultiges_amtliches_ergebnis/wahl-zum-19-niedersachsischen-landtag-am-9-oktober-2022-endgultiges-amtliches-ergebnis-216438.html",
            "role": "see-also",
            "kind": "race_results",
            "kindReason": "election code and results marker",
            "resolvable": true,
            "origin": "race",
            "note": "2022 precedent: \"Der Niedersächsische Landeswahlausschuss hat in seiner öffentlichen Sitzung am 20. Oktober 2022 das amtliche Endergebnis der Landtagswahl am 9. Oktober 2022 festgestellt.\" On 26 Oct 2022 the committee amended (\"abgeändert\") the official result in a further public session.",
            "check": null
          },
          {
            "url": "https://landeswahlleiter.niedersachsen.de/startseite/presse_service/presseinformationen/landtagswahl_2022/landtagswahl-am-9-oktober-2022-vorlaufiges-amtliches-endergebnis-216081.html",
            "role": "see-also",
            "kind": "race_results",
            "kindReason": "election code and results marker",
            "resolvable": true,
            "origin": "race",
            "note": "2022 precedent, election night (press release No. 11): the first constituency result reached the returning officer's results centre at 19:48, and \"um 23:23 Uhr\" the preliminary official result (\"Vorläufige amtliche Endergebnis\") was presented.",
            "check": null
          },
          {
            "url": "https://landeswahlleiter.niedersachsen.de/download/189142/Pressemitteilung_Nr._14_-_endgueltiges_amtliches_Endergebnis.pdf",
            "role": "see-also",
            "kind": "race_results",
            "kindReason": "election code and results marker",
            "resolvable": true,
            "origin": "race",
            "note": "2022 press release No. LW 22/14 of 20 Oct 2022 on the final official result. The minimum size is 135 seats. Five SPD overhang seats led to a recalculation on 135 + 10 seats and a Landtag of 146 members.",
            "check": null
          },
          {
            "url": "https://www.stk.niedersachsen.de/startseite/presseinformationen/der-niedersachsische-landtag-wird-am-26-september-2027-neu-gewahlt-253008.html",
            "role": "timetable",
            "kind": "other",
            "kindReason": "election page without a results marker",
            "resolvable": false,
            "origin": "race",
            "note": "State Chancellery press release of Tuesday 11 Aug 2026, stating that the state government set the date: \"Die Wahl findet am Sonntag, den 26. September 2027, in der Zeit von 08.00 bis 18.00 Uhr statt. Grundlage ist eine vom Innenministerium vorgelegte Verordnung, die das Kabinett beschlossen hat.\" The Landtag first met on 8 Nov 2022, so the constitutional window (56-59 months after the start of the term) ran from 9 Jul to 8 Oct 2027. The ordinance's Nds. GVBl. reference was not found.",
            "check": null
          },
          {
            "url": "https://www.schure.de/1121001/nlwg.htm",
            "role": "timetable",
            "kind": "other",
            "kindReason": "election page without a results marker",
            "resolvable": false,
            "origin": "race",
            "note": "Niedersächsisches Landeswahlgesetz (NLWG), unofficial consolidated text. §1(1): at least 135 members, 87 of them elected in constituencies. §9: the state government sets polling day and hours by ordinance, as a rule at least nine months ahead. §33: the Landeswahlausschuss allocates the list seats. §33(7): overhang seats (\"Mehrsitze\") raise the minimum size by twice their number.",
            "check": null
          },
          {
            "url": "https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wahl_zum_20._Nieders%C3%A4chsischen_Landtag",
            "role": "see-also",
            "kind": "other",
            "kindReason": "no election or results marker",
            "resolvable": false,
            "origin": "race",
            "check": null
          },
          {
            "url": "https://landeswahlleiter.niedersachsen.de/",
            "role": "authority-home",
            "kind": "emb_home",
            "kindReason": "site root: cannot answer a results question",
            "resolvable": false,
            "origin": "authority",
            "check": null
          }
        ],
        "page_activity": [],
        "government": null,
        "results": [],
        "url": "https://electionindex.org/election/germany-lower-saxony-2027#landtag"
      }
    ]
  },
  "meta": {
    "dataset_version": "2026-09-29.e560cf70",
    "built_at": "2026-09-29T23:24:24Z",
    "generated_at": "2026-09-30T00:51:31.565Z",
    "licence": "CC BY 4.0: credit \"Election Index (electionindex.org)\" and link to https://electionindex.org",
    "docs": "https://electionindex.org/docs"
  }
}