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Complaint lodged by the federal chairman of DIE PARTEI concerning the scrutiny of an election is inadmissible
Press Release No. 30/2011 of 20 April 2011
Order of 12 April 2011
2 BvC 12/10
The Second Senate of the Federal Constitutional Court dismissed as inadmissible the complaint challenging the validity of the 2009 Bundestag election which had been lodged by the federal chairman of DIE PARTEI in his own name.
The Party for Employment, Rule of Law, Animal Protection, Furtherance of the Elites and Direct Democratic Initiative (Die Partei für Arbeit, Rechtsstaat, Tierschutz, Elitenförderung und Basisdemokratische Initiative - DIE PARTEI) had not been recognised as a party by the Federal Electoral Committee and had therefore not been admitted to the 2009 Bundestag election. The objection challenging the validity of the federal election raised for this reason by DIE PARTEI, represented by its federal chairman, was rejected by the Bundestag.
The complaint lodged by DIE PARTEI's federal chairman which was directed against the resolution of the Bundestag is inadmissible because he is not entitled to lodge such a complaint. Pursuant to § 48.1 of the Federal Constitutional Court Act (Bundesverfassungsgerichtsgesetz - BVerfGG), a person entitled to vote may only lodge a complaint concerning the scrutiny of an election if an objection lodged by him or her has been rejected by the Bundestag. The clear and unambiguous wording of the provision requires that the complainant and the person raising the objection be identical; this requirement has not been complied with because the federal chairman lodged the complaint in his own name, whereas in the preceding objection procedure, he only acted as the representative of DIE PARTEI, which raised the objection. An extending interpretation of the provision is not required. The provision keeps within the boundaries of the fundamental concept of what a complaint concerning the scrutiny of an election is. Apart from this, every group of voters can ensure that the relief sought by the objection may become the subject matter of a complaint by just one of its members raising the objection also in his or her own name.