Press

Press release no. 26/21 of 13. August 2021

2021 Bundestag Election: Federal Constitutional Court has decided on urgent application regarding electoral law

WIESBADEN – With today’s ruling, the Federal Constitutional Court has rejected an application for issuing a restraining order. The purpose of the urgent application was that the amendments to the Federal Elections Act that entered into force in November 2020 – especially regarding the calculation of seats in the Bundestag election on 26 September 2021 – should not be applied. Within the scope of the required weighing of consequences, the Federal Constitutional Court has ruled that the reasons in favour of issuing of a restraining order do not justify the encroachment upon the competence of the legislator that would be involved. There was no “clear preponderance of reasons in favour of issuing the restraining order and thus there were no particularly serious reasons that would be required for suspending the implementation of a law”.

Consequently, the new legal provisions of Section 6 of the Federal Elections Act will be applied in the Bundestag election on 26 September 2021. Federal Returning Officer Georg Thiel said: “The Federal Returning Officer will implement the legal requirements laid down in Section 6 of the Federal Elections Act as planned for the calculation of seats for the 20th German Bundestag.”

The decision on whether the new provisions of the Federal Elections Act to be scrutinised are compatible with the Basic Law will be taken in the proceedings on the merits to be held later.

 

Press office
tel: +49 611 75-3444
www.bundeswahlleiter.de/contact