Federal Constitutional Court rules on new electoral law at the end of July
They are opposing two key points - the abolition of overhang and equalizing mandates and the elimination of the fundamental mandate clause. In the future, seats in the Bundestag are to be allocated completely based on majority relations in second votes. In the past, there were overhang mandates when a party won more electoral districts than the number of seats it was entitled to based on the second vote results.
Historically, the CSU benefited from this. Nationwide, they received few second votes, but in Bavaria, they won almost all electoral districts. To maintain a fair distribution of seats, other parties received compensatory mandates. This led to the Bundestag becoming larger - a reform that is now intended to stop. The number of deputies is limited to 630.
The Left party entered the Bundestag as a faction after the 2021 federal election only because of the fundamental mandate clause. This stipulated that a party could still enter parliament with the strength of its second vote results if it won at least three direct mandates. This clause is now abolished, but the five percent hurdle is to remain. The Left and CSU see this as a worsening of the situation.
Apart from the Bavarian state government and the CSU, 195 members of the Union faction in the Bundestag, the Left party and its former faction, Linken-MPs, and more than 4,000 private individuals, organized by the association Mehr Demokratie, have turned to the court. The judgment is now about to fall - somewhat more than a year before the expected date of the next federal election.
- The abolition of the fundamental mandate clause and the retention of the five-percent hurdle have sparked concerns among parties like the Left and CSU, as they believe it could negatively impact their representation in the upcoming federal election.
- The electoral law reform, set to take effect in future federal elections, aims to eliminate overhang mandates and equalize mandates, which had historically benefited parties such as the CSU in regions like Bavaria.
- The Bundestag is set to undergo significant changes in the allocation of seats, transitioning from a system based on both majority relations in second votes and fundamental mandate clauses to one solely based on majority relations in second votes.
- The Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe is currently considering a case challenging this electoral law reform, with various parties, including the CSU and the Left, as well as private individuals and the association Mehr Demokratie, arguing that the changes could infringe on the right to vote and lead to an unfair distribution of seats.
- With the judgment expected to be delivered less than a year before the scheduled July 2023 federal election, the outcome of this case could have significant implications for the composition of the Bundestag and the balance of power in German politics.
