In publishing the for the legislative elections on 8 October, the government has also provided some data to help establish the profile of a typical candidate.

More men than women

42.8% of candidates are women. Once again, the electoral lists will be dominated by male candidates (57.2%). However, some parties have respected parity. This is the case for déi Gréng and déi Lénk, which have achieved perfect parity.

With 37.3% female candidates and 62.7% male candidates on its list, the KPL is the worst performer in terms of parity.

By way of comparison, in the 2022 French parliamentary elections, 44.2% of the candidates were women. In France, it took 20 years to increase parity from 38.9% to 44.2%.

Average age: 46

The average age of a candidate for the legislative elections is 46. The Piraten and déi Lénk parties have the two youngest candidates (18). The oldest candidate, 84, is a member of the KPL. The Communist party also has the oldest list, with an average age of 55.5. In contrast, the Volt party has the youngest list, with an average age of 34.8.

More generally, the 18-24 age group is very poorly represented on the 12 electoral lists, accounting for just 3.39% of all candidates. The over-60s accounted for 20.18% of candidates across the political spectrum.

With 42.99% of candidates, the 40-50 age group is the most represented, followed by the 25-39 age group (33.43% of candidates).

The absence of young people is quite striking when broken down by party. The LSAP, DP and CSV parties have no candidates aged between 18 and 24. Déi Gréng, Piraten, Volt, KPL and Liberté-Fräiheet each have only one candidate under the age of 24. Conversely, with seven candidates under 24, ’s party (Fokus) has the largest contingent of young people, followed by déi Lénk with five candidates aged between 18 and 24.

This article was first published in French on . It has been translated and edited for Delano.