- Federal Constitutional Court seems to have partially abolished the new right to vote
The Federal Constitutional Court apparently partially repeals the new electoral law. This is indicated by a document that was reportedly leaked and briefly available online on Monday evening. According to the German Press Agency, a spokesperson for the Federal Constitutional Court declined to comment on the report that it was the judgment. Previously, the "Spiegel" had reported on the apparent leaked decision. The Federal Constitutional Court was scheduled to announce its ruling on Tuesday at 10:00 AM.
Federal Constitutional Court on electoral law: Repeal of basic mandate clause incompatible with Basic Law
The "Spiegel" reported on Tuesday morning, citing a written version of the ruling, that the judges would declare the repeal of the so-called basic mandate clause incompatible with the Basic Law. Until a new regulation, the basic mandate clause should continue to apply.
The basic mandate clause allowed a party to enter parliament even with less than five percent of the second votes nationwide, provided it won at least three direct mandates. Only thanks to this clause, the Left Party entered the Bundestag in faction strength after the 2021 federal election.
Electoral reform to reduce the size of the Bundestag
The electoral reform was passed in March last year with the votes of the traffic light coalition. It aims to reduce the Bundestag from its current 733 members to 630. The reform plans to abolish overhang and equalization mandates as well as the basic mandate clause. The CSU and the Left Party see their existence threatened by the changes and have therefore taken legal action before the Federal Constitutional Court.
The Federal Constitutional Court's ruling stated that the repeal of the basic mandate clause by the traffic light coalition is incompatible with the Basic Law, as reported by "Spiegel". This decision could potentially impact the The lighting coalition's electoral reform plan, which aims to reduce the size of the Bundestag while abolishing the basic mandate clause.
