Saarbrücken Regional Assembly Election Overturned: Here's Why
Contestated Regional Assembly Election in Saarbrücken - Regional Assembly Elections in Saarbrücken Annulled
The 2024 election for the Regional Assembly in the Saarbrücken Regional Association hit a snag as the Administrative Court of Saarland declared it invalid. The court in Saarlouis announced this decision on May 27, ordering the State Administrative Office to cancel the election based on a complaint by the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, who were initially excluded from the election. The parties involved have a month to appeal the court's decision at the Higher Administrative Court.
According to the court ruling, the AfD submitted two electoral lists for the June 2024 election, creating a dilemma for the election committee since both lists appeared to violate the ban on multiple candidacies. The first list named an AfD member as the trustee and the State Chairman of the AfD as the responsible party leadership. A second list, submitted later, listed the Chairman of the AfD district association Saarbrücken-Land and the 1st deputy State Chairman of the AfD Saar as the responsible party leadership.
AfD's Perspective: The First Proposal Should Have Been Allowed
The AfD disputed the election committee's decision, arguing that the first list, not both, should have been allowed in the election. The court sided with the party, ruling that there was no violation of the ban on multiple candidacies. The invalid list was ruled out due to a technical violation of electoral law, not due to the multiple candidacies rule.
Court's Decision: A Matter of Technicalities and Legitimacy
The court decided to overturn the election because of the technicalities surrounding the invalid list. The AfD's appeal was deemed justified as there was no violation of the multiple candidacies rule. While the minimum rules required by the Municipal Election Act were not met for the second list, the court determined that the first list, the only valid one, should have been allowed to participate in the election.
Regional Assembly: Balance of Power at Stake
The Regional Assembly in the Saarbrücken Regional Association consists of 45 members, elected by citizens of the ten member cities and communities, for a term of five years. The assembly is responsible for making decisions on the self-governance of the regional association. With the cancelled election, the balance of power could potentially shift, as it remains uncertain whether the void results will be reflected in the redistribution of seats.
[5] The court's decision suggests that the exclusion of the AfD could have influenced the distribution of seats in the assembly due to the opinion polls and the results of the district council elections of the AfD.
- The ruling by the Administrative Court of Saarland, which overturned the 2024 Regional Assembly election in Saarbrücken, was based on a technical violation of electoral law, not a breach of the multiple candidacies rule, as upheld in the AfD's appeal against the election committee's decision.
- The ongoing political landscape in the Saarbrücken Regional Association is likely to be impacted by the court's decision, with the balance of power in the Regional Assembly potentially shifting due to the cancelled election and the alleged influence of the AfD's exclusion on the distribution of seats, as suggested by opinion polls and district council election results.
