Abstention
In the case of votes in collegiate bodies , abstention means that a member entitled to vote neither casts a yes nor a no vote, i.e. gives neither approval nor rejection .
General
Collegial bodies include the supervisory board , works and staff council , management , shareholders ' meeting , general meeting , parliament , political parties , governments , administrative advisory board , administrative board or board of directors .
Abstention as voting behavior presupposes the existence of voting rights . There are mainly three options for decision-making when voting: yes-vote, no-vote or abstention. The abstention is not intended to have a positive or negative effect on the conclusion of a resolution. In the event of an abstention, a member entitled to vote takes part in an election or vote , but does not cast a vote that can be assigned to one of the alternatives offered . For tactical reasons, abstentions are often used in general and especially at general meetings of stock corporations, especially by institutional investors, as a concealed no-vote.
Evaluation of abstentions
An abstention can express neutrality , informal support or the rejection of all possible alternatives or protest against something not available for election. In elections ( Bundestag , Landtag or municipal elections ), the possibility of abstaining from voting on the ballot paper is not provided for by law in Germany (cf. § 30 BWG ). Because from an abstention neither the will of the electorate nor a member can be elected. In Bundestag, Landtag and local elections, there is therefore only the possibility of approving one party, and in addition to valid votes, invalid votes are also counted. The abstentions can only be estimated very roughly using the level of voter participation or non-voter participation.
Abstentions are recorded very differently in elections or political votes in Germany. In the case of votes on bills in the German Bundestag or the election of the President of the Bundestag , in addition to the yes and no votes, the abstentions are also counted.
In association law , abstentions and invalid votes are not included in elections, unless otherwise expressly regulated in the statutes . Abstentions count as votes not cast. The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) had already decided in January 1982 that at the vote in the club "to calculate votes No, the majority only on the number of votes cast for and (is) Abstentions are not be counted."
In other corporate law , too, the majority of the votes "cast" decides ( Section 133 (1 ) AktG , Section 47 (1) GmbHG , Section 53 (2) GmbHG and Section 16 (2) GenG , Section 43 (2) GenG)). Only yes and no votes are considered “submitted”. A Rules of Procedure may at public companies according to § 129 para. 1 AktG contain rules for the preparation and holding of a general meeting. Voting rules can also be agreed here. In accordance with Section 133 (1) AktG, the resolutions of the General Meeting require a majority of the “votes cast” (simple majority of votes), unless the law or the Articles of Association determine a larger majority or other requirements. The addition or subtraction procedure is used as a voting procedure for general meetings . With the subtraction procedure, only the no votes and the abstentions are recorded when voting on the resolution proposals of the administration on the agenda items . The yes votes are determined by deducting the no votes and the abstentions from the attendance . For this purpose, the abstentions are first deducted from the represented share capital . This calculates the number of votes cast (although an abstention is also a vote). The number of votes cast is then deducted from the number of votes cast, the difference being the number of votes in favor. Since only the yes and no votes cast are counted, but the abstentions are not taken into account, this method of counting becomes problematic if the number of abstentions is not insignificant.
In elections for the composition of bodies , citizens in Germany who are entitled to vote have so far only had two options for abstaining, namely to stay away from the election as a non- voter or to cast an empty or invalid ballot as a voter. Both variants are called invalid votes .
When voting
When voting in committees such as B. Parliaments, supervisory boards or general assemblies count one abstention
- if an absolute majority is required, de facto as a vote against to all alternatives (including the “no” votes). A certain proportion of all voting members or all (including absent) members of the committee must vote for an alternative. With an abstention, the committee member decides not to choose any of the alternatives and thus to stick to the status quo . Example: When electing a German Bundestag President, an abstention has the same effect as a dissenting vote, since at least half of all Bundestag members must vote for a candidate. Neutral behavior by abstaining from voting is not possible in the Bundesrat (Germany) . In accordance with Article 52, Paragraph 3 of the Basic Law, resolutions in the Federal Council can only be passed with an absolute majority, and in the case of constitutional amendments only with a two-thirds majority of the total number of votes. Abstention therefore has the effect of a no, and its meaning depends on the respective wording of the voting question.
- If a relative majority is required, not as a vote influencing the election , unless abstaining from voting as an eligible alternative does not lead to the intended consequences (e.g. renewed vote). With this evaluation mode, abstentions are usually not included in the result, although a certain proportion of the counted votes can be required. In the simple majority evaluation mode in the German Bundestag , for example, a majority of the votes must be obtained for a decision, but only “yes” or “no” votes are counted. It is therefore possible in this Parliament that the support of an alternative by very few parliamentarians will lead to its implementation.
- If unanimity is required to pass resolutions, abstaining from voting does not prevent unanimous resolutions from being reached ( Art. 238 (4 ) TFEU ).
International
In the Swiss and Austrian referendums, there is only a choice between yes and no votes. In the Austrian National Council , abstentions are not permitted in accordance with Section 68 (2) GOG-NR . It is not possible to abstain from voting either in the plenary sessions or in the committees. Since the National Council only requests approval by a sign, usually by standing up, in the case of open votes, failure to stand is considered a refusal of approval. There is no cross-check as in the German Bundestag. Even with roll-call votes, MPs only have the option of voting “yes” or “no”; the only way to de facto abstain would be to stay away from the vote. According to Section 17 (2) of the Burgenland Family Promotion Act, abstaining from voting is considered a rejection by the Family Advisory Board.
In France , the abstention have ( French abstention ) and the delivery of invalid votes is a long tradition. As a rule, between 2% and 5% of voters vote in this form. Until February 2014, abstentions in elections were counted as invalid, since then a “white vote” ( French vote blanc ) has been taken into account in the counting.
In a UN resolution in December 2016, the UN Security Council called for an end to Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank and east Jerusalem. In contrast to previous similar resolutions, the US waived its right of veto , abstained from voting ( English abstention ) and paved the way for the resolution against Israel.
literature
- Wolfgang Ernst: Small voting primer. Guidelines for the assembly , Neue Zürcher Zeitung book publisher, Zurich (2011), ISBN 978-3-03823-717-4 .
- Carmen Thiele: Rules and procedures of decision-making within states and associations of states , Springer Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg (2008), ISBN 978-3-540-78994-9 , chapter voting behavior, pp. 417–479.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Carmen Thiele, Rules and Procedures for Decision-Making Within States and State Associations , 2008, p. 436
- ^ Bettina Blank , Consideration Orientation, Decision and Didactics , 2002, p. 105
- ↑ Hanns Prütting / Gerhard Wegen / Gerd Weinreich, Commentary on the BGB , 2017, § 32, marginal no. 12
- ↑ BGHZ 83, 35
- ^ Website of the German Bundestag: Absolute majority , accessed on December 29, 2018.
- ^ Website of the German Bundestag: Simple majority , accessed on April 9, 2019.
