The NPD yes, the DKP no – the federal electoral committee has decided which associations are allowed to participate in the federal election in 2021 and which are not. A representative of the “Anarchist Pogo Party of Germany” expressed his displeasure with the rejection particularly drastically.
53 parties can participate in the Bundestag election on September 26th. That was decided by the Federal Electoral Committee in its two-day meeting. These include the CDU, CSU, SPD, FDP, Left, Greens, AfD, Free Voters and BVB / Free Voters, who are already represented in the Bundestag or a state parliament. In addition, 44 smaller parties and associations were officially recognized as parties, which is a prerequisite for participating in the Bundestag election.
A total of 88 such groups had indicated to the Federal Returning Officer that they wanted to run in the fall. However, one of them had not done so within the legally prescribed time limit. It was not recognized as a party within the meaning of the Political Parties Act, as were 43 other groups. Many of them failed because of the requirement to provide regular and timely accountability reports on their finances. Others had only contacted the Federal Returning Officer via the Internet. However, this must be done in writing and with original signatures.
The Federal Returning Officer only carries out a formal examination
The Federal Returning Officer pointed out that he was not allowed to review the substantive positions of a party. He was “not authorized to review the constitutionality of parties or other political associations”he wrote on Twitter. An unconstitutionality can only be determined by a judgment of the Federal Constitutional Court.
In this way, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution as “right-wing extremist small party” classified grouping “The III. path” eligible for election. Next to the “III. Weg” the NPD was also allowed to vote. The participation of the Pirate Party, the ÖDP, the Gray and the Marxist-Leninist Party of Germany (MLPD) was also approved. The approval to participate in the elections also received the “Party for change, vegetarians and vegans”, the “Team Todenhöfer – The Justice Party”, the “Alliance C – Christians for Germany”, the “European party love” as well as the “Garden party” and “The others”.
The Südschleswigsche Voters’ Association (SSW), which has so far only been represented in the Kiel state parliament and represents the Danish minority, was also admitted. The SSW was also recognized as a party of national minorities. The five percent clause does not apply to him. He also doesn’t have to submit supporters’ signatures like the other small parties.
The complete list of approved parties can be found here at the Federal Returning Officer.
The most famous party that failed was the DKP. In the past few years, the communists had always submitted their reports of accounts considerably late and thus failed to meet the requirements of the party law, and the Republicans also missed approval.
They were also rejected “Anarchist Pogo Party of Germany”, because also this grouping with the slogan “Work sucks” appears on the Internet, received no approval. The exuberantly pierced face, Chairman Andreas Reiter, fell out of the clouds when the Federal Returning Officer informed him that the announcement that he wanted to take part in the election had only come online. Which is not enough. He had submitted everything on time, assured Reiter in a broad Bavarian accent, to say goodbye after the decision: “And for that shit I had to stay sober now. Thanks for that.”
Also the “Germanic party for women, the rule of law, nature conservation, child support and democratic love” and the “Non-German association” as “The Haie – A party with a bite!” failed.
Because of the corona pandemic, the Bundestag had reduced the minimum number of supporters’ signatures to a quarter – to a maximum of 500 for state lists and a uniform 50 for district election proposals.
The rejected parties can refer the decision to the Federal Constitutional Court, they have four days to do so.
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