What is the new electoral law good for?

from Daniel Hellmann

DOI: 10.36206/BP2024.01

For more than 15 years now, the Federal Election Act has been undergoing constant reform. Now the Bundestag has passed its most extensive reform to date with the votes of the "Ampel" parliamentary groups. The opposition parties, above all the CDU/CSU and the Left Party, have sometimes harshly criticised the new law. But what does the reform change and what is it good for? In future, individual constituencies will probably have to make do without directly elected MPs. However, this does not mean that these constituencies and their voters will not be represented or that the representation of the Bundestag will deteriorate as a result. However, it remains questionable whether the cancellation of the basic mandate clause was a necessary reform step. All in all, however, it can be said that the new electoral law solves many problems, above all the enlargement of the Bundestag and negative voting weights.