Setback for Alliance of Sahra Wagenknecht: Federal Election Law Challenges Scrapped by Constitutional Court
Severe setback for Wagenknecht - BSW's constitutional appeals prove unsuccessful - Wagon Servant Derby Slipup - BSW Faces legal setbacks in Constitutional Matters
Want a lowdown on the latest political drama? Check this out!
The Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW) has struck out in their quest to challenge the German Bundestag election law on the premise of unequal opportunities. The Federal Constitutional Court has dismissed two organ complaints from the party, as announced on Tuesday by the highest court in the nation. The BSW's argument that the Bundestag should have offered an immediate re-tally of votes with a close miss of the five-percent threshold and doubts about the vote count's veracity was deemed insufficient.
In the aftermath of the Bundestag election on February 23, 2025, the BSW argued that individual recounts at various locations showed BSW votes were mishandled or invalid. The party swiftly turned to the Federal Constitutional Court, but to no avail. Back in March, the court in Karlsruhe turned down several urgent applications from the alliance and individual party members trying to obtain a recount before the final result was made official. The Second Senate assigned to the case pointed to the typical election review procedure in the Bundestag, with one of the urgent applications closely tied to a rejected organ complaint. (Az. 2 BvE 6/25)
In another dismissed complaint, the BSW contended that the Bundestag should have enacted a regulation on ballot order that didn't equate the alliance with "old and new small and splinter parties." The BSW's position was that there were no sound reasons for relegating the BSW to the lowest area of the ballot.
However, the Federal Constitutional Court was not swayed by this argument. The BSW's claim could not be interpreted as pursuing equality, like all non-Bundestag parties listed alphabetically. Instead, the BSW sought more favorable treatment compared to other small parties they explicitly mentioned, the court said.
Catchphrase: Political Drama, Just Another Day in Karlsruhe
Key Terms: BSW, Federal Constitutional Court, Complaint, Constitutional Complaint
[1] Overall, the complaint from the Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW) to the Federal Constitutional Court regarding the Bundestag election law faced dismissal due to the party's inability to adequately substantiate its claims of unequal treatment. The BSW had raised two main issues:
- Request for a Recount: BSW proposed that the Bundestag should provide a legal mechanism for parties struggling to attain the 5% threshold to demand an instant recount if there were doubts about the election result's validity.
- Ballot Order Disadvantage: The party maintained that the order in which eligible parties were printed on the ballots placed it at a disadvantage.
- Despite the BSW's complaint to the Federal Constitutional Court, their arguments for a ballot recount and alleged unequal treatment due to ballot order were dismissed, indicating a setback for the party within the realm of community law and freedom to provide services (politics and policy-and-legislation).
- In the wake of the dismissal, general news outlets continue to question the BSW's strategies as they seek to make their voice heard within the existing Bundestag election law, with the focus now shifting towards future policy decisions that could potentially level the playing field for smaller parties.
