Germany's election also-rans

The small parties hope to cause a few surprises

This Sunday's elections in Germany may have been dominated by the "Big Five", but more than 20 other parties were the running. At the last election, in 1998, they managed to score nearly 6%. BBC Online takes a closer look at some of them.

Bavaria Party (BP):

Founded in 1946, the BP calls itself the "political organization for Bavarian patriots. In 1998, it scored 0.1%.

The BP put up 17 candidates in Bavaria. It wants "the right of self-determination for all Bavarians, no German troop deployments abroad... and protection for small farmers".

The Women - Feminist Party:

"If we do nothing today, we will live tomorrow as we did yesterday," is the party's motto. It scored 0.1% in 1998.

The party wants more political power for women, a "change of values" in the world economy, more rights for women refugees, respect for "all lifestyles" and a "feminist education policy".

The Greys:

The Greys is a party associated with older voters in Germany. It believes in "tolerance, honesty and solidarity".

Praying their seats aren't under threat?

It wants more "direct democracy" through the introduction of referendums.

It wants Germany to value individual citizens' concerns, and to recognize the achievements of older people. At the last elections, the Greys won 0.3% of the vote.

Ecological Democratic Party (ODP):

The ODP calls itself a "party with values for the political centre". One of its mottos is "Less is more". It believes in "respect for life and responsibility for the future of our children".

The party, which scored 0.2% in 1998, points out how it differs from the Greens. It says it is against legalizing marijuana, takes no donations from big business, and wants to stop the tax breaks its says nuclear energy producers enjoy in Germany.

Party of Bible-loyal Christians (PBC):

The PBC says it is "the political voice for Christians from all denominations". It maintains that Christians in the large parties are sidelined.

The party wants Germany's government to be guided by "God's eternally valid word". In 1998, the PBC won 0.1% of the vote.

Animal Protection Party (MUT):

The party believes that "humans, animals and the environment form an indivisible unity".

Ready for the off

But it says that human arrogance has led to natural catastrophes and the abuse of "our fellow living beings from the animal world".

The MUT says it is not only the advocate of the animal world, but of all weak and disadvantaged groups in society. It scored 0.3% in 1998.

Anarchist Pogo Party (APPD):

In 1998, they got 0.1%. This time round, they say the election is "too much stress". So their main rally - on the day before polling day - was to mark the start of their 2006 campaign.

The APPD believes "everyone should be able to live their lives according to their needs". Their main policy is to campaign against plans to ban the drinking of alcohol in public. The party also wants to set up a separate zone in Germany for "Nazis, racists and fascists".

BBC Monitoring, based in Caversham in southern England, selects and translates information from radio, television, press, news agencies and the internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages.