- The Federal Electoral Court's judgment in MV received different opinions
The ruling of the Federal Constitutional Court on the reform of the election law has sparked different reactions in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The CDU lamented that not every district winner will now enter the German Bundestag. The general secretary of the state party, Philipp Amthor, described the new regulation approved by the judges as "a rigged voter's election law". At the same time, he welcomed the fact that the Federal Constitutional Court had stopped the federal government's attempt to eliminate political competitors using the election law. "That was exactly the low-minded ulterior motive of the traffic light coalition in their plan to abolish the basic mandate clause to the detriment of the CSU and the Left Party," Amthor explained, who has been sitting in the Bundestag for the CDU since 2017.
Pirates demand change to election law in MV as well
Like the Left, the much smaller Pirate Party also expressed satisfaction with the assessment of the Karlsruhe judges that the five-percent hurdle alone is unconstitutional. "The ruling of the Federal Constitutional Court is also a hint for the left-red coalition in MV and all other states. There is still enough time until the next state election in 2026 to implement the reduction of the anti-democratic five-percent hurdle," explained Dennis Kluver, political business manager of the Pirate Party in MV. The Council of Europe recommends a maximum hurdle of three percent for established democracies.
New election law confirmed in essential points
The Federal Constitutional Court had largely confirmed the new regulation introduced by the traffic light government in 2023, but declared the abolition of the so-called basic mandate clause unconstitutional. According to this clause, parties also entered the Bundestag in the strength of their second vote result, even if they fell below the five-percent hurdle, but won at least three direct mandates. The court has now provisionally reinstated this rule until the legislator passes a new regulation. The limitation of the Bundestag to 630 members and the abolition of the so-called overhang and equalization mandates - a core piece of the traffic light reform - remained in place. Currently, the Bundestag has 733 members.
FDP welcomes ruling
The general secretary of the FDP state association, David Wulff, described the ruling as a clever and balanced signal for the future of German election law. "If politics wants to reform the country, then it must not exclude itself. For this reason, the German Bundestag may not continue to grow uncontrolled," he said. In the decisive question of reducing the Bundestag, the ruling fully confirmed the reform. The introduction of the second vote coverage ensures the functionality of the Bundestag without violating the principles of democracy and equal opportunities. The abolition of unbalanced overhang mandates is the decisive step to prevent the second vote result from being distorted in the seat allocation and to no longer burden the taxpayer.
Amthor, on the other hand, defended the current regulation, under which each constituency winner enters the Bundestag, but the parliament has been increasingly bloated through compensatory mechanisms. "It's politically unwise of the traffic light coalition to devalue the constituency mandates close to the people and thus harm the principle of democratic representation of the constituencies in the German Bundestag," Amthor explained. The new electoral law will likely cause considerable frustration and disillusionment with politics for many voters when their chosen constituency winners do not enter the Bundestag.
"A similar scenario threatens us in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern," the CDU politician predicted. Because the SPD won almost all direct mandates in the 2021 state election, more than 71 members of parliament entered the state parliament for the first time in MV - 79, due to the compensatory regulations.
The Federal Constitutional Court's decision on the Election to the Landtag in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern has led to various reactions, with the CDU expressing disappointment that not every district winner will now secure a seat in the German Bundestag.
This court ruling on the Election to the Landtag has also prompted the Pirate Party to demand a change in the election law in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, with Dennis Kluver stating that there's still time until the next state election in 2026 to reduce the anti-democratic five-percent hurdle.
