Senior president must let the Thuringian state parliament vote

After a chaotic state parliament session, Thuringia’s constitutional judges gave the AfD’s senior president a kind of rule corset. The court gives clear instructions for the continuation of the session on Saturday morning.

What does he have? Constitutional Court decided?

The Thuringian Constitutional Court in Weimar made it very clear in a decision on Friday evening that the senior president Jürgen Treutler from the AfD exceeded his authority in the first state parliament session on Thursday and violated the rights of the MPs several times. He should have established the quorum of Parliament at the meeting and then let the MPs vote on the provisional agenda. There are now clear instructions from the judges for the continuation of the session on Saturday morning.

What was discussed in the first one? state parliament session argued on Thursday?

The dispute actually revolves around the election of the President of the State Parliament. In the first session of a newly composed state parliament, this or that person is elected to constitute the state parliament. Before the meeting, the CDU and BSW had already submitted a motion to change the rules of procedure on the agenda that dealt with the election. Only then should voting take place – according to new rules.

Senior President Treutler (AfD), who opened the first meeting, did not want to allow this. In order to prevent a vote on this in parliament, he has already failed to determine whether the state parliament has a quorum. This upset the other groups, who had repeatedly requested that the quorum be finally determined.

The Thuringian Constitutional Court has now issued an interim order instructing the senior president to first call the MPs by name and then to determine whether there is a quorum. If the provisional agenda is then approved by the majority of MPs, the CDU and BSW’s proposal will be voted on.

Who has that? Right of suggestion for him or her President of the state parliament?

Article 57 paragraph 1 of the Thuringian constitution states: “The state parliament elects the president, the vice-presidents and the secretaries from among its members.” The constitution is not more specific: for example, it does not specify which faction the candidate must come from.

However, the state parliament’s rules of procedure state: “The strongest faction proposes a member of the state parliament for the election.” If he or she does not receive a majority, “new applicants can be proposed for further ballots,” the rules of procedure continue.

The AfD is probably of the opinion that only it, as the strongest faction, has the right to make proposals – including in further election rounds. The other factions see it differently. But because the senior president comes from the AfD and might not be able to admit any other applicants, the CDU and BSW want the rules of procedure to be changed. There they want to adopt the wording from the constitution instead of the previous rule, which can be interpreted this way and that. The president should therefore be elected from among the members of the state parliament. This would make it clear: every political group can propose candidates from the start.

Can you before choosing the Presidents of the state parliament die Rules of Procedure change?

The senior president had taken a clear position: he was of the opinion that the state parliament could only change the rules of procedure when it was constituted, i.e. a president had already been elected. The Thuringian Constitutional Court has now clearly told Treutler that he is wrong.

Parliament has a right to self-organization, which arises from the constitution. The parliament, i.e. the representatives, can set their own rules (the rules of procedure). And that is possible at any time, according to the judges: “The Thuringian Constitution does not regulate the order of the individual constitutional acts. In particular, the Constitution does not specify that the election of the President of the State Parliament must take place before the rules of procedure are adopted.”

Regarding the task of the senior president, the court states the following: “He alone has a ‘serving task’ towards parliament by ensuring that the newly elected state parliament is able to act and work. It follows in particular from this position that he is neither able to make a decision on the “We are entitled to interpret the rules of procedure and reject motions from the plenary session.”

As the strongest faction, the AfD doesn’t have the right to that President of the state parliament?

No. This right does not arise from the constitution. So far, the rules of procedure state that the strongest parliamentary group has the first right to make proposals. But an elected parliament can change these rules of procedure at any time. The Constitutional Court has now made this clear in the urgent proceedings.

In the past, the strongest faction has always had the right to make proposals, but there is no obligation to keep it that way. The constitution for Thuringia does not give rise to an exclusive right of proposal for an individual faction nor a right to elect a specific candidate.

“The concept of choice is inherent in being able to make a decision, which also means being able to decide against a candidate. (…) The freedom of choice would be undermined if there were no options and a de facto compulsion to agree. The choice would be theirs Sinns emptied if a faction had the right to a certain election result”.

This free choice and the requirement for a majority follow from the principle of democracy. The Federal Constitutional Court had already decided this for the Bundestag in similar cases.

What’s next?

The Thuringian Constitutional Court has given Treutler, the senior president, a clear course of action with the interim orders. First, he must appoint temporary secretary. He is then obliged to call the names of the MPs and determine whether Parliament has a quorum. The other factions repeatedly and vehemently demanded this on Thursday.

After determining the quorum, Treutler must then ask whether there are any objections to the provisional agenda. If so, he must put it to a vote. If the agenda is accepted, the senior president must then continue the meeting according to this agenda. So in all likelihood the proposal from the CDU and BSW will also be voted on. Only then will the President of the State Parliament be elected.

The meeting is scheduled to continue on Saturday morning at 9:30 a.m. Then it will become clear how the AfD and the senior president Treutler will deal with the decision. If Treutler does not adhere to the guidelines, parliament could probably remove him with a majority and elect a new chairman.

If you had that Rules of Procedure couldn’t change earlier?

The scandal at the first session of the state parliament was predictable. Many have been warning about this for a long time. And so an agreement could have been reached on changing the rules of procedure in the last legislative period. The Greens in Thuringia had also suggested changing the rules of procedure so that the constituent meeting would be chaired by the longest-serving MP rather than the oldest. Such a rule now exists in the Bundestag. The CDU parliamentary group in Thuringia did not want the changes before the election.