The Federal Constitutional Court’s decision on the electoral law is imminent. A ruling could also shake up the traffic light coalition’s electoral law reform.
Karlsruhe – It’s a bit paradoxical: a highly controversial reform of the traffic light coalition’s electoral law to reduce the size of the Bundestag has been in force since June. But first, the Federal Constitutional Court will assess on Wednesday (November 29th, 10 a.m.) whether the electoral law reform of the grand coalition between the Union and the SPD in 2020 was constitutional. Even if the law in question is no longer current, today’s judgment may affect the current law. Karlsruhe could pose problems with the traffic lights again.
The old change still has an impact anyway – the current Bundestag was elected on its basis. If the 2021 federal election were to be repeated in Berlin, this would also be based on the electoral law at the time. The court could provide information on how clear and understandable an electoral law must be formulated – this was primarily what the hearing in April was about. It is also controversial whether the 2020 reform violated the parties’ equal opportunities.
Can the ruling on voting rights also have consequences for the new reform?
In Berlin, the ruling on the 2020 electoral law reform will be examined closely. The court may write a few general principles on voting law in its ruling, which could also have an impact on the latest reform of the traffic light coalition. The Free State of Bavaria and the CSU are already suing against this. The CDU/CSU parliamentary group and the Left have also announced lawsuits. Assuming that Karlsruhe rejects the new reform, the old voting law might come into effect in 2025.
Bundestag too big due to overhang and compensation mandates
With the 15th electoral term that began in 2002, the Federal Election Act set the target size of the Bundestag at 598 members. This number was initially roughly maintained. But from election to election, more representatives moved into the Reichstag building, and in 2017 there were 709. Overhang and compensatory mandates were responsible for the Bundestag’s growth to an XL format. Overhang mandates arose when a party won more direct mandates than the number of seats it received based on the second vote result. She was allowed to keep this, but the other parties received compensatory mandates in return. All parties advocated downsizing, but could not find a common denominator.
What did electoral law reform look like in 2020?
The electoral law reform of the GroKo consisting of the CDU/CSU and SPD consisted of two parts. The first part was applied in 2021, the second part should only apply to the 2025 election. It has already been determined for 2021 that a party’s excess mandates should be partially offset against its list mandates in other countries. If the standard size of 598 seats is exceeded, up to three overhang mandates should not be compensated for by compensatory mandates. However, the number of 299 constituencies was not affected. These should only be reduced to 280 in the second step from 2024. In addition, a reform commission should be set up on electoral law issues after the 2021 federal election.
Electoral law reform: A case for the Federal Constitutional Court
The FDP, the Greens and the Left, who were in opposition when the GroKo reform was passed, had agreed on their own bill that would have had significantly more impact. According to him, for example, the number of constituencies should be reduced from 299 to 250. In February 2021, they submitted a so-called abstract norm review in Karlsruhe to check the electoral law reform of the Union and SPD for its compatibility with the Basic Law.
Due to the many mishaps on election day in Berlin, the federal election is to be repeated in some electoral districts of the capital following a decision by the Bundestag. Proceedings on this matter are also ongoing in Karlsruhe. On December 19th, the Federal Constitutional Court wants to announce in how many electoral districts this has to happen and whether it is enough to only cast the second vote. The repeat election would have to follow the same rules as the main election. (skr/dpa/afp)
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