As of: September 27, 2024 11:54 p.m
The state constitutional court has decided in the dispute over the conduct of the Thuringian state parliament session: The judges issued an interim order that the senior president Treutler (AfD) must adhere to.
In the dispute over the election of the state parliament president in Thuringia, the CDU has achieved success in court. The Thuringian Constitutional Court in Weimar decided by interim order that the AfD’s senior president Jürgen Treutler must submit a parliamentary group motion to change the rules of procedure to a vote.
At the state parliament session on Thursday, which was marred by tumult, Treutler repeatedly refused to vote on a corresponding motion from the CDU and BSW, which aims to ensure that in the election of the state parliament president, all factions can nominate candidates from the first round and not just the AfD as the strongest Fraction.
Treutler justified the rejection of the debate by saying that the new state parliament was only finally constituted with the election of the state parliament president and could only then deal with motions on the rules of procedure. The Constitutional Court now contradicted this. The court’s decision was unanimous.
Senior presidents should generally act in a non-partisan manner. But that’s exactly what the AfD politician didn’t do, according to accusations from all other parties. In addition, the AfD is said to have deliberately chosen the personnel in order to provoke such a scandal.
Application violated Constitutional law not
According to the announcement, the court made it clear that the MPs have the right to decide on the agenda in the constituent session. “This means that a debate and resolution on a change to the rules of procedure is permitted before the election of the President of the State Parliament.” The constitutional judges explained: “The intended regulation, which stipulates that all factions – and not just the strongest faction – are allowed to submit nominations for the election of the President of the State Parliament in the first round of voting, does not violate constitutional law.”
SPD calls on AfD to give in
The SPD reacted with relief to the Thuringian Constitutional Court’s decision. “I am relieved by the Thuringian Constitutional Court’s decision. The AfD must now fully accept the ruling,” said Katja Mast, first parliamentary director of the SPD in the Bundestag, to the news magazine Spiegel. “We are lucky that the rule of law works – the AfD cannot simply ignore our democratic rules.”
Mast said that when the AfD is given power, it abuses it. “It became clear in front of the camera: She does not accept the democratic rules. She despises our democracy,” the SPD politician continued. The AfD is dismantling parliament: “And it will continue, that is to be feared.”
Struggle around Right of suggestion for president
The CDU appealed to Thuringia’s highest court as a last resort after a chaotic state parliament session on Thursday with numerous interruptions and Treutler’s denial of speech and motion rights. The BSW, the Left and the SPD also joined their application.
The background is a tug of war over the right to nominate the presidential office. The AfD has so far insisted on filling the second highest state office in Thuringia because it is the strongest faction in a German state parliament for the first time.
