Judgment on electoral reform: Left praises decision on basic mandates
The Federal Constitutional Court usually announces its decision in the morning (10:00 AM). However, the text of the judgment was already accessible on the internet during the night. According to this, the judges consider the five-percent clause in the Federal Election Law to be incompatible with the Basic Law without restriction. Therefore, they decided that the basic mandate clause, which was abolished as part of the electoral reform, will continue to apply until a new regulation is in place.
The basic mandate clause provides that parties that receive less than five percent of the valid second votes can also be taken into account in the seat allocation. The requirement is that the parties have achieved at least three direct mandates. The Left Party benefited from the basic mandate clause in the 2021 election, allowing it to enter the parliament with faction strength.
Loetzsch called a deletion of the basic mandate clause in the ARD "democratically unacceptable in any way". The "devaluation of the first vote" is a "very, very big problem". If voters in a constituency predominantly elect a candidate, "one cannot explain to these people why this person should not be represented in the Bundestag", argued the Left politician, who won the direct mandate in her constituency of Berlin-Lichtenberg in the last six federal elections.
The electoral reform was passed in March of last year with the votes of the traffic light coalition. It aims to reduce the number of members of the Bundestag from the current 733 to 630.
However, the Karlsruhe judges did not criticize the basis of the reform according to the judgment that was made known in advance. According to it, so-called overhang and equalization mandates should be abolished. Then, only as many direct candidates will enter the Bundestag as are covered by the second votes of a party. This can lead to some direct candidates not being represented in the Bundestag despite winning in a constituency.
In addition to the Left Party, the CSU also felt threatened in its existence by the electoral reform. Therefore, it also filed a complaint with the Federal Constitutional Court together with its sister party CDU, as well as the Bavarian state government.
The Federal Constitutional Court's decision to maintain the basic mandate clause despite the electoral reform being in place is considered beneficial for parties like the Left Party, as it can still enter parliament with faction strength even if they receive less than five percent of the valid second votes, provided they secure at least three direct mandates. However, the 'Other' parties affected by the electoral reform may contest this decision, arguing that it does not fully reflect the will of the majority.
