Zersplitterte Kommunalparlamente oder Starkung lokaler Demokratie? Warum die Abschaffung der kommunalen Funfprozenthurde in Nordrhein-Westfalen ein Fehler war

In: Zeitschrift für Parlamentsfragen: ZParl, Volume 41, Issue 4, p. 788-803

Abstract

Abolishing the 5-percent threshold clause for municipal elections in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia in 1999 was driven by a weighting between the norms of an equality of votes and equality of chances on the one hand, the need for the councils to be able to perform on the other. The effects on the composition and working capacities of the municipal councils were considerable: The number of fractions, groupings and individual members in the municipal parliaments of the large cities increased; in the smaller municipalities this fragmenting effect is smoothened by a "natural threshold". The increase in the number of groupings and fractions caused a considerable negative impact on parliamentary working capacities. This manifests in longer debates, instable majorities and redundant discussions due to disturbances in the division of work between committees and the council plenum. Hence, a moderate threshold of 2.5 percent should be (re-)established which does not affect the equality of votes and chances in the smaller municipalities, but will facilitate the working conditions in the councils of larger cities. Adapted from the source document.