Constituency (Bavaria)

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The seven Bavarian constituencies.

The seven electoral districts form the top level of the electoral area in the elections to the Bavarian state parliament and in the district elections . According to Article 14, Paragraph 1, Clause 2 of the Constitution of the Free State of Bavaria, they correspond to the seven Bavarian administrative districts .

Unlike the constituencies in the other federal states, an electoral district in Bavaria is not the sub-area of ​​the electoral area that is represented in the state parliament by a directly elected member; this position is held by the constituency in Bavaria . In the Bavarian state electoral system , the electoral districts therefore not only have the function of mere voting districts, but rather the importance of independent electoral bodies. All essential steps and decisions of the state elections are carried out on the basis of the constituencies instead of at the state level:

  • a possible reclassification of electoral districts is based on the average number of inhabitants of the electoral districts in the constituency
  • the list candidates are not drawn up at state party congresses, but at constituency delegate meetings of the parties
  • Supporting signatures for non-established parties must be proven separately for each constituency
  • Eligible voters can only vote for list candidates in their constituency, even with the second vote, there is no state list
  • Distribution of mandates to the parties, the ranking within the party list and any overhang mandates are determined at constituency level
  • Successors when a deputy resigns are determined from the same constituency list.

If a list has won fewer direct mandates in a constituency than it would receive based on its total votes, the remaining mandates from the constituency list are filled. Since in Bavaria a specific candidate is elected with the second vote and not a blanket list, the order of the candidates on the list can change as a result of the election. If a list has won more direct mandates in a constituency than it would get based on its total votes, there are overhang mandates .

The separate consideration of the seven constituencies is broken in the five percent hurdle, which must be exceeded nationwide, as well as in the fundamental determination of party status, which is incumbent on the state election committee.

Mandates per constituency

The allocation of the number of Landtag mandates to be awarded to the constituencies is determined by the respective number of residents. In contrast to the individual electoral districts, state electoral law and constitutional jurisprudence do not allow a margin of tolerance here, but require an exact calculation in advance of each election. Due to changes in the geographical distribution of the population, the weight of the constituencies for the composition of the state parliament has shifted: of the 204 seats in 1950, 54 seats were awarded in the Upper Bavaria constituency and 25 in the Upper Franconia constituency. In 1998 the number had risen to 65 in Upper Bavaria and decreased to 20 in Upper Franconia.

Since 2003, the minimum number of MPs has been 180. Of these, 61 mandates for the 2018 state elections were regularly assigned to the constituency of Upper Bavaria, 18 to Lower Bavaria, 16 each to Upper Palatinate and Upper Franconia, 24 to Middle Franconia, 19 to Lower Franconia and 26 to Swabia. By overhang and compensatory seats , the number of seats increased to 205. This will be charged at the district level, thus arose for Upper Bavaria 69 for Lower Bavaria 21 for the Upper Palatinate and Upper Franconia, respectively 18, of Central Franconia 29 and for Schwaben 31. Only in Lower Franconia was there are no overhang and therefore no compensatory mandates, so that Lower Franconia is represented by 19 members.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Article 14 of the Constitution of the Free State of Bavaria
  2. ↑ State election 2018 | Bavarian State Parliament. Retrieved October 21, 2018 .

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