Local electoral law (Germany)
Local electoral law is an umbrella term for various statutory regulations of local law for local elections in the municipalities and municipal associations . Municipal law, municipal electoral regulations and other additional rules on content of significant difference according to the respective municipal regulations in the countries settle in Germany , the right of citizens to the organs of local government and local government associations.
General
The local electoral law is the basis of local self-government , which is guaranteed by Article 28 , Paragraph 2, Sentences 1 and 2 of the Basic Law : “The municipalities must be guaranteed the right to take responsibility for all matters of the local community within the framework of the law regulate. The municipal associations also have the right to self-administration within their legal scope of duties in accordance with the law. "
Like parliaments, local councils are elected according to the principles of general, free, secret, equal and direct elections.
State laws
The choice of local councils is regulated by state laws.
Overview of the electoral regulations of the 16 federal states
Main points
Except for the elections to the district assemblies of Berlin, the district assemblies of the Hanseatic City of Hamburg and the citizenship of the Hanseatic city of Bremen, there are no longer any threshold clauses . Several local election regulations allow cumulation and variegation . The terms of office range from four to six years.
Active voting rights are granted from the age of 16 in the majority of countries. Even foreigners with citizenship of an EU -state are eligible to vote, see right of foreigners to vote .
Groups of voters
Due to the limited subject matter of local law, local elections also allow groups of voters who are not parties to participate in the elections (so-called town hall parties ). Parties and groups of voters who are not represented in the relevant representative body, in the Bundestag or in a Landtag , usually have to be able to show support signatures in order to be allowed to vote.
general overview
| state | Electoral term | Active / passive voting age | Electoral system | List form | Number of votes | Threshold clause | Seat allocation process |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baden-Württemberg | 5 years | 16/18 | Proportional representation m. open lists | open | = Number of seats to be allocated | No | Sainte-Laguë |
| Bavaria | 6 years | 18/18 | Proportional representation m. open lists | open | = Number of seats to be allocated | No | Hare / Niemeyer |
| Berlin | 5 years | 16/18 | Proportional representation | closed | 1 | 3% | d'Hondt |
| Brandenburg | 5 years | 16/18 | Proportional representation m. open lists | open | 3 | No | Hare / Niemeyer |
| Bremen | 4 years | 16/18 | Proportional representation m. open lists | open | 5 | partly 5% | Sainte-Laguë |
| Hamburg | 5 years | 16/18 | Proportional representation m. open constituency lists (multi-mandate constituencies) and open lists | open | 10 | 3% | Sainte-Laguë |
| Hesse | 5 years | 18/18 | Proportional representation m. open lists | open | = Number of seats to be allocated | No | Hare / Niemeyer |
| Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania | 5 years | 16/18 | Proportional representation m. open lists | open | 3 | No | Hare / Niemeyer |
| Lower Saxony | 5 years | 16/18 | Proportional representation m. open lists | open | 3 | No | Hare / Niemeyer |
| North Rhine-Westphalia | 5 years | 16/18 | Personalized proportional representation | closed | 1 | No | Sainte-Laguë |
| Rhineland-Palatinate | 5 years | 18/18 | Proportional representation m. open lists | open | = Number of seats to be allocated | No | Hare / Niemeyer |
| Saarland | 5 years | 18/18 | Proportional representation | closed | 1 | No | d'Hondt |
| Saxony | 5 years | 18/18 | Proportional representation m. open lists | open | 3 | No | d'Hondt |
| Saxony-Anhalt | 5 years | 16/18 | Proportional representation m. open lists | open | 3 | No | Hare / Niemeyer |
| Schleswig-Holstein | 5 years | 16/18 | Personalized proportional representation | closed | = Number of seats to be allocated | No | Sainte-Laguë |
| Thuringia | 5 years | 16/18 | Proportional representation m. open lists | open | 3 | No | Hare / Niemeyer |
- ↑ since 2013, previously d'Hondt
- ↑ since 2014, previously d'Hondt
- ↑ The threshold clause only applies to citizens of Bremen. There is no threshold clause for advisory boards or the Bremerhaven city council .
- ↑ The threshold clause deleted after the LVerfG ruling
- ↑ [1] : On June 10, 2016, a threshold clause of 2.5% was introduced, after the state constitutional court had declared the threshold clause of 5% unconstitutional on July 6, 1999. In the meantime, there was no threshold clause. On November 21, 2017, the state constitutional court ruled once again that a threshold clause is unconstitutional.
- ↑ Restriction clause deleted after judgment of the BVerfG
- ↑ The threshold clause deleted after the Thuringian Constitutional Court ruling
Web links
- Wahlrecht.de - Overview of the local electoral law in Germany
- Wahlrecht.de - Directory of local election laws in Germany
Individual evidence
- ↑ Art. 28 , Paragraph 1, Sentence 3, GG
- ↑ Wahlrecht.de
- ↑ State Election Law Berlin. September 25, 1987, Retrieved June 28, 2020 .
- ^ Law on the election to the district assemblies (BezVWG). In: Landesrecht - Justice - Portal Hamburg. July 5, 2004, accessed June 28, 2020 .
