Dispute over committee size and seating arrangements in the newly elected state parliament of Saxony-Anhalt

Even before the first session of the newly elected state parliament in Saxony-Anhalt, there is a risk of a dispute between the parliamentary groups. On Friday, the representatives of the AfD, CDU, SPD, Greens, Left and BSW will meet in Magdeburg for the so-called Pre-elders' Council to determine procedural rules for parliamentary operations. There are different opinions on the size of the committees.

The AfD proposes that the committees should in future consist of 12 instead of the current 13 members. However, the state parliament administration recommended a composition of 11 representatives because this would reflect the election results well. Size makes a big difference: with a strength of 12 politicians, the AfD could take 6 places - and would therefore have a lot of shaping power. It wouldn't be a majority of our own, but a stalemate of 6:6 against the other factions. This would make it easier for decisions or recommendations for resolutions in the committee to be blocked or delayed. With a committee of 11, the AfD would have five representatives, so it would have to coordinate with other parliamentary groups.

In the state elections on September 6th, the AfD with its top candidate Ulrich Siegmund was the strongest force with 43.8 percent, ahead of the CDU with 17.2 percent. The CDU, Left, Greens and SPD together have 39 seats in parliament, and the AfD also has 39 members. The BSW has 5 representatives, the majority is 42 votes.

The AfD could block applications from others

The committees in which the majority of the substantive work in Parliament takes place should reflect the majority situation as in the plenary session. The principle of mirror image is also mentioned. The committees discuss bills and motions and hold hearings. In the past, concerns of the smaller factions and the opposition were often taken into account.

They now fear that this will change. However, representatives of other parties reject the AfD's move primarily because they do not see it as reflecting the election results. With committees of 12, the AfD could block requests for self-referral from other factions, warns the parliamentary director of the Greens, Olaf Meister. If the AfD wants an issue not to be discussed in the committee, it can reject it. Meister considers such majority relationships to be constitutionally questionable in view of the election results. “The AfD didn’t get 50 percent,” he said. With self-referral requests, political groups can request that a specialist committee deal with a topic on their own initiative.

Disputes also about seating arrangements and rooms

The size of the committee is determined by the rules of procedure, which the state parliament could decide on October 6th after the election of the state parliament president. If the BSW votes together with the AfD, the 12-member committees could be established. In this case, the Greens and the SPD are considering filing a lawsuit with the state constitutional court. The mirror image would not be guaranteed in this way, said the parliamentary manager of the Social Democrats, Falko Grube. An assessment of the state parliament lawyers on this should be discussed in the preliminary council of elders.

Conflicts also threaten on other points. According to participants, the AfD is considering moving the offices of the SPD and the Greens from the state parliament to other buildings - those affected see this primarily as a step that is intended to have a symbolic effect and with which the AfD wants to demonstrate its strength. The Left is currently using other premises.

It's also about the seating arrangement. Instead of being on the far right, the AfD MPs would like to sit in the middle of the plenary session in the future.