Direct democracy in Bavaria

Instruments of direct democracy in Bavaria enable citizens to participate in political decision-making at the state level as well as in municipalities and districts (municipal level).

Direct democracy at the state level

With the establishment of the Free State of Bavaria in 1919, the direct democratic instruments of referendum and referendum were already introduced at the state level in the Bamberg constitution . The constitution of the Free State of Bavaria of 1946 also provided for people's legislation as a supplement to representative democracy from the start. In addition, the Bavarian State Parliament can be recalled by the people by means of a referendum and referendum .

People's legislation

→ Main article : People's legislation in Bavaria

In Bavaria, laws are passed by the people through referendums in addition to the Bavarian state parliament . The people can introduce a legislative proposal through a referendum. In addition, all changes to the state constitution must be confirmed by a referendum.

The people's legislation is divided into a three-stage process

• the application for approval of a referendum ,
• the referendum and
• the referendum .

To apply for a referendum, the signatures of 25,000 voters are required, although requests for the state budget are inadmissible. If the petition for a referendum is declared admissible, a registration period for the referendum is set. Within two weeks, 10% of those entitled to vote must then register for the request so that it becomes legally valid . The relevant lists are available in offices. If this hurdle is reached, the legislative proposal is submitted to the state parliament. If the state parliament does not accept the bill, a referendum takes place. If a majority of the voters are in favor of the draft of the referendum, this becomes law. An approval quorum of 25% of all eligible voters is only required if the referendum includes an amendment to the constitution.

Since 1946 there have been 14 referendums in Bavaria (including the vote on the Bavarian Constitution), six of which were initiated by a referendum. Ten referendums included constitutional amendments. Four referendums have also been successful in the referendum so far. They dealt with the freedom of broadcasting , the introduction of municipal petitions and referendums (see below), the abolition of the Bavarian Senate and the protection of non-smokers .

Removal of the state parliament

According to the Bavarian Constitution, the Bavarian State Parliament can also be recalled, i.e. dissolved, through a referendum and a referendum . The details are regulated in Art. 83 ff. Of the State Election Act.

In order to recall the state parliament, a referendum must be successful in accordance with the above procedure, but the entry of one million eligible voters is required (and not 10% of the eligible voters). If this hurdle is reached, a referendum takes place.

The state parliament is recalled if the majority of the valid votes cast are in favor in the referendum. The President of the State Parliament must then carry out the dismissal immediately.

In addition, the regulations on popular legislation in Bavaria apply accordingly for the implementation of referendums and referendums .

Direct democracy in communities and districts

Instruments of direct democracy are also available in Bavaria at the municipal level ( municipalities and districts ) as a supplement to the basic representative representation by the municipal council (Germany) or city ​​council or district council .

These are primarily citizens' requests and referendums, but also citizens' applications and, in municipalities, the citizens' assembly . However, only a referendum and referendum necessarily lead to a factual decision. Citizens 'applications and recommendations from a citizens' meeting only have to be "dealt with" by the local council or district council.

Citizens' Assembly

The citizens' assembly is the only instrument for municipal citizen participation that was provided for in the Bavarian municipal code from the start . The citizens' assembly is regulated in GO, it does not exist at the district level. A citizens' meeting must be called in accordance with the following regulations:

• Once a year the first mayor has to convene a citizens' meeting.
• The municipal council can decide that further citizens' meetings should take place.
• When a certain minimum number of community citizens apply in writing that a citizens' meeting should take place. In municipalities with up to 10,000 inhabitants, 5% of the municipality citizens are required for this, in larger municipalities 2.5% of the municipality citizens. In this way, a citizens' meeting can only be called once a year.

In cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants, the citizens' meeting should take place for the city districts, as well as in parts of larger municipalities which were still independent municipalities on January 18, 1952 (the municipal code came into force).

In principle, only community citizens can speak at the citizens' meeting, exceptions must be decided by the meeting. The citizens' assembly can decide on recommendations, which must be dealt with by the municipal council within three months. For this it is sufficient that the relevant topic is included in the agenda of a municipal council meeting. However, the municipal council is not obliged to bring about a decision on the issue.

Citizens' petitions and referendums

→ Main article : Citizens' petitions and referendums in Bavaria

In Bavaria, direct democratic instruments are also available at the municipal level with citizens' petitions and referendums. This means that matters relating to a municipality's or a district's own sphere of activity can be decided by the municipality or district citizens themselves.

Citizens' petitions and referendums were initially neither provided for in the Bavarian constitution nor in the municipal or district regulations. These procedures were only introduced in 1995 through direct democracy. At the state level, the referendum "More democracy in Bavaria: Citizens' decisions in municipalities and districts" was also successful in the referendum, through which these instruments were incorporated into the Bavarian Constitution ( Art. 7 and Art. 12 ) and the Bavarian Municipal Code and District Code ( Art . 12a LKrO) were introduced.

The process is two-stage and consists of

• Citizens' petitions and
• Referendum.

For a referendum, a sufficient number of support signatures must first be collected. The minimum number required depends on the number of inhabitants in the municipality and is between 3% and 10% of the municipality or district citizens, in smaller municipalities a larger percentage is necessary. If this hurdle is reached and the referendum is admissible, the municipal council or the district council can take over the request, otherwise a referendum takes place. However, the local council is not obliged to deal with the issue. The holding of a referendum can also be decided by the local council or district council without a prior referendum (so-called council petition ). A referendum is decided according to the majority of the votes cast, provided that this majority exceeds the required voting quorum. The quorum is between 10% and 20% of the electorate, again depending on the population of the municipality. A successful referendum has the same effect as a decision by the local council or district council.

From November 1995 to August 2010, a total of 1,694 citizens 'petitions and 981 citizens' decisions (78 of which were initiated by the municipal council) took place in Bavaria. About every second referendum ends in favor of the initiators. In 49% of the decisions, the proposal of the referendum or council was accepted, 45% rejected and 6% of the referendums fail because of the necessary quorum.

Citizen application

In 1999, the possibility of citizens' applications was also created, which is regulated in Art. 18b GO and Art. 12b LKrO. Accordingly, the community citizens (district citizens) can apply that a local body has to deal with a matter. For this, the signatures of at least 1% of the community residents (district residents) are required, whereby only the community citizens (district citizens) are authorized to sign. Similar to the recommendations of the citizens' assembly, the communal body addressed is not obliged to make a decision on the matter of fact.

Web links

• Bavarian State Ministry of the Interior: referendums and referendums
• Bavarian State Office for Statistics and Data Processing: Referendums and referendums
• Bavarian authorities' guide: referendums and referendums (municipality)
• Bavarian authorities guide: Citizens' petitions and referendums (district)
• More democracy e. V., State Association of Bavaria

Individual evidence

1. ↑ See as an example Art. 18a Para. 12 Municipal Code for the Free State of Bavaria
2. ↑ Peter Gack, Gerd Rudel: Shaping local politics. An introduction to the legal framework and political options for action  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 1.2 MB) Petra Kelly Foundation (Ed.), Munich, 2007, p. 25.  
3. ↑ Peter Gack, Gerd Rudel: Shaping local politics. An introduction to the legal framework and political options for action  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 1.2 MB) Petra Kelly Foundation (Ed.), Munich, 2007, p. 8 f.  
4. ↑ See as an example Art. 18a Para. 12 Municipal Code for the Free State of Bavaria
5. ↑ See as an example Art. 18a Para. 12 Municipal Code for the Free State of Bavaria
6. ↑ Susanne Socher, Frank Rehmet, Fabian Reidinger: 15-year report on Bavarian petitions and referendums ( memento of the original from March 3, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. More democracy e. V. (Ed.), Munich 2010, accessed April 8, 2011. 

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