Election chaos in Saxony: Constitutional Court examines 45,000 votes!

Election chaos in Saxony: Constitutional Court examines 45,000 votes!

Things are boiling in Saxony: The state elections on September 1, 2024 not only reshaped the political landscape, but also caused a lot of excitement due to an unexpected increase in votes of around 45,000 shortly before midnight. This striking turnaround particularly affects the Greens, the SPD and the Left, whose election results suddenly increased sharply. As the Picture reported, the Saxon Constitutional Court is now active to investigate what happened.

Possible irregularities have been reported since February 2024. On the evening of the election itself, interim results were repeatedly published, but there were discrepancies. The Greens had only received 3.7% of the votes at 11:20 p.m., only to jump to 4.5% a little later, at 11:33 p.m., despite fewer communities being counted. Ultimately, the Greens recorded 5.1% in 435 municipalities counted, which had a significant impact on the distribution of seats: The Greens won one seat and are now represented with 7 seats in the state parliament, while the CDU fell from 43 to 41 seats, as did the AfD, which slipped from 41 to 40 seats.

Political reactions and challenges

In a statement, the Saxon state returning officer described the published results as “rough guidelines”. The Dresden computer scientist and lawyer Marcus Pretzell lodged a complaint with the election audit committee, which was rejected. A constitutional complaint was then submitted to the Saxon Constitutional Court. The lawsuit argues that the rejection of the objections violates the principles of open voting and equality. For this reason, the Constitutional Court has already requested documents from the state parliament, which could now lead to either the distribution of seats being recalculated or new elections taking place in certain constituencies.

The background is not unimportant in the context of an election year that took place at the same time in Saxony and Thuringia. With a voter turnout of 74.4%, the highest since 1990, and around 3.18 million eligible voters, the 2024 election was a pivotal political event. Seven parties took part and the CDU with 31.9% and the AfD with 30.6% remained the strongest factions, while the SPD's result with 7.3% was the worst since 1990.

The consequences of the elections at a glance

In the state parliament, which is elected for five years using the Sainte Laguë procedure, the political discussions could be decisive in the coming period. While the possibility of new coalitions is in the air, the CDU and the AfD have already rejected measures that would involve cooperation with the Left or the Greens. Despite the turbulence, everyday political life remains exciting and coalition formation in Saxony is being closely monitored.

The official final count and possible new elections or seat distribution will now be the focus. The Saxon constitution could soon be put to the test.

Further information about the election and the results can also be found at Wikipedia and the detailed results wahlrecht.de.