The Federal Constitutional Court of Germany has called on the German Bundestag to process complaints regarding federal parliamentary elections more quickly. This is the second time the court has issued such a call for faster processing of election complaints.
In its decision, which was signed by all eight members of the Second Senate of the Federal Constitutional Court, the court emphasized there is a public interest in the rapid and binding clarification of the proper composition of parliament.
The court noted that the number of election complaints has increased significantly compared to previous elections. While the Bundestag has processed approximately 450 complaints since the last federal election, a Bundestag document from May indicated the number of complaints stood at 1,041.
The number of election complaints following the previous federal election.
Delays and parliamentary legitimacy
The Bundestag’s Election Verification Committee was not elected until June 26 of last year, which was a quarter of a year after the Bundestag’s constitution. The Federal Constitutional Court found no compelling reason for this delay and stated that coalition negotiations do not justify a delay in processing election complaints.
The court stated that at least one year after the election, it was not evident that the Bundestag had made sufficient efforts to catch up on delays. It further noted that the legitimacy of parliament must be verified independently of coalition negotiations or the formation of a government.
Implications for future elections
Delays in verifying election complaints may, in the worst case, make a full or partial re-election of the Bundestag necessary. A partial re-election previously occurred in parts of Berlin following the 2021 federal election due to delays in the verification process of the Bundestag and the Federal Constitutional Court.
