A new state parliament will be elected in Bavaria on October 8th. 9.4 million people can vote on whether the Free State will continue to be governed by a coalition of CSU and Free Voters that formed after the 2018 election – or whether the political balance will shift. In this news blog, the SZ collects the most important reports about the election and provides information on current developments:
Opposition parties want to convene a special session of the state parliament
Tuesday, August 29, 2:18 p.m.: The Greens, SPD and FDP want to convene a special session of the state parliament on the leaflet affair about Deputy Prime Minister Hubert Aiwanger. This was announced by the three opposition parties on Tuesday. At the special meeting, the so-called intermediate committee should meet. Among other things, it deals with urgent matters after the last plenary session before elections. Only some of the members of the state parliament are members of the body.
Before that, there had been a special meeting of the coalition committee of the CSU and Free Voters, in which the allegations against Aiwanger were discussed that he had been punished as a student for a right-wing extremist leaflet. After the meeting, Söder said that Aiwanger’s internal statements had not yet been sufficient. Therefore, the coalition partner was given a questionnaire with 25 questions. He will remain in office for the time being. Aiwanger’s brother had previously taken the blame for the leaflet from the 1987/88 school year.
FDP parliamentary group leader Martin Hagen said that the statements by Söder and Aiwanger were not enough. “The serious allegations against Hubert Aiwanger are not an exclusive matter between the CSU and Free Voters,” said Hagen. “This affects all of Bavaria and must not be negotiated behind closed doors. Hubert Aiwanger must answer questions from the state parliament.” SPD leader Florian von Brunn spoke of a “weak decision” by Söder. “The least would have been that Hubert Aiwanger had to give up his office.” Green parliamentary group leader Ludwig Hartmann added: “Söder ducks away. Instead of taking consequences, he prefers to continue governing with a deputy who leaves the greatest doubts about his democratic convictions.” That harms the reputation of Bavaria.
The district assembly – the second body that will be elected on October 8th
Monday, August 28, 2:59 p.m.: On October 8, not only a new Bavarian state parliament, but also new district assemblies will be voted on. In addition to the communities, cities and districts, the district is the third municipal body, it is responsible for the areas of social affairs, health, education, culture and the environment. The district spends most of its money on social affairs, with around 90 percent of the district budget flowing into this every year.
What they decide and what special features there are in the election – an overview:
Postal voting in Bavaria starts
Monday, August 28, 8 a.m.: The starting signal for postal voting in Bavaria: From this Monday it is – theoretically – possible to vote by post. In any case, according to the state returning authority, this is the earliest possible date from which it is possible to issue ballot papers with the postal voting documents – provided the ballot papers in the respective voting districts are ready. When exactly those entitled to vote hold their voting notifications in their hands will vary somewhat from municipality to municipality. The proportion of postal voters has been growing rapidly everywhere for years – in 2018, at 38.9 percent, it was higher than ever in Germany. And experts and parties firmly believe that the October 8 election will deliver a record number of postal voters.
CSU survey only slightly above the 2018 election result
Thursday, August 24, 10 a.m.: A month and a half before the Bavarian state elections, according to a new survey, there is hardly any movement in the political mood in Bavaria. The CSU comes in the Civey survey published on Thursday on behalf of Augsburg General and Mirror to 38 percent. That is just slightly more than the 2018 state election result (37.2 percent). The Greens come in the survey to 15 percent. The AfD ends up with 13 percent, the free voters come to 12 percent, the SPD stands at 10 percent. The FDP is at 4 percent, i.e. below the five percent hurdle, and must therefore continue to fear that it will re-enter the state parliament. In principle, election polls only reflect the opinion at the respective time or period of the survey and are not forecasts for the outcome of the election. They are always fraught with uncertainties.