who has reached the age of majority, in Germany 18 years, is eligible to stand for election according to the German Basic Law (article 38, paragraph 2 BL). It has to be remarked that the age of majority can be altered by a simple federal law. Eligibility to stand for election presupposes the right to vote. However, some German citizens are not permanent residents of Germany and also do not have the right to vote as a German citizen living abroad. They can still be elected if they meet all the other requirements. Yet, people can be deprived of their eligibility to stand for election in certain circumstances. This can happen in the case of an imprisonment of more than a year as is laid down in § 45, subparagraph 1 in the , the German criminal law. Election management bodies The most important election management body is the Federal Returning Officer, appointed by the Federal Ministry of the Interior. Responsibilities include running electoral procedures and chairing the election committee. The leader of the Federal Statistical Office usually holds this office. The Federal Returning Officer is assisted by the electoral committee and the Returning Officers of each , the election supervisors and the electoral committee of each constituency as well as the election judges and the managing committee of each electoral ward. They are appointed by the federal government. The other members of the electoral committees are appointed by the Returning Officer. Election management bodies (EMBs) are institutions of independent, societal self-organisation. In general they are considered to be a sort of federal agency. The Federal Ministry of the Interior, the Supreme Federal Authority, is responsible for the enactment of certain regulations necessary for federal election procedures. However, the Federal Ministry of the Interior does not have the authority to issue directives against the election management bodies. Scrutiny of elections Within two months after the federal election () any voter can request the scrutiny of elections. According to the established practice of the Federal Constitutional Court () the Committee for the Scrutiny of Elections of the , the parliament of Germany, has to reject a request if the distribution of mandates did not change even with the request being granted. The Committee for the Scrutiny of Elections only makes sure that the Federal Voting Act is implemented properly; it does not deal with possible unconstitutionalities. If the rejects the veto,