Politics of Bavaria
In 1995 the Bavarians decided to introduce direct democracy on the local level in a referendum. This was initiated bottom-up by an association called Mehr Demokratie (More Democracy). This is a grass-roots organization which campaigns for the right to citizen-initiated referendums. In 1997 the Bavarian Supreme Court aggravated the regulations considerably (e.g. by introducing a turn-out quorum). Nevertheless, Bavaria has the most advanced regulations on local direct democracy in Germany. This has led to a spirited citizens’ participation in communal and municipal affairs – 835 referendums took place from 1995 through 2005.
Constitution
The Constitution of Bavaria was enacted on 8 December 1946. It is the fourth constitutional document in Bavarian history after the Constitution of 1808, the Constitution of the Kingdom of Bavaria in 1818 and the Bamberg Constitution of 1919.
The Bavarian State Parliament
Bavaria has a
Until December 1999, there was also a Senat, or
The Landtag resides in the Maximilianeum, a building rich in tradition built on the banks of River Isar by King Maximilian II in the 19th century.
The Bavarian State Government
- Bavaria Cabinet since 12 November 2018
The Bavarian State Government is the supreme executive authority of the state.
The State Government is composed of the:
- State Chancellery (Staatskanzlei)
- Ministry of the Interior, for Sport and Integration (Staatsministerium des Innern, für Sport und Integration)
- Ministry for Housing, Construction and Transport (Staatsministerium für Wohnen, Bau und Verkehr)
- Ministry of Justice (Staatsministerium der Justiz)
- Ministry for Education and Culture (Staatsministerium für Bildung und Kultus)
- Ministry for Science and Art (Staatsministerium für Wissenschaft und Kunst)
- Ministry of Finance and for Home Affairs (Staatsministerium der Finanzen und für Heimat)
- Ministry for Economic Affairs, Regional Development and Energy (Staatsministerium für Wirtschaft, Landesentwicklung und Energie)
- Ministry for Environment and Consumer Protection (Staatsministerium für Umwelt und Verbraucherschutz)
- Ministry for Food, Agriculture and Forestry (Staatsministerium für Ernährung, Landwirtschaft und Forsten)
- Ministry for Family, Labour and Social Affairs (Staatsministerium für Familie, Arbeit und Soziales)
- Ministry for Health and Care (Staatsministerium für Gesundheit und Pflege)
- Ministry for Digital Affairs (Staatsministerium für Digitales)[4]
Bavaria state elections
Electoral system
Bavaria uses mixed-member proportional representation to elect its members of the Landtag. Party representation is not apportioned statewide, the distribution of seats takes place separately within the seven administrative districts (Regierungsbezirke), which are referred to in the constitution as constituencies (Wahlkreise).[5] The constituencies are divided into electoral districts (Stimmkreise) in which one member is directly elected. The number of single member districts is about half the number of seats in the constituency.
Since the 2018 state election seats and single member districts are distributed as follows:[6]
Constituency | Seats[notes 1] | Single member districts |
---|---|---|
Upper Bavaria | 61 | 31 |
Lower Bavaria | 18 | 9 |
Upper Palatinate | 16 | 8 |
Upper Franconia | 16 | 8 |
Middle Franconia | 24 | 12 |
Lower Franconia | 19 | 10 |
Swabia | 26 | 13 |
Total | 180 | 91 |
- ^ Without overhang and leveling seats
Since the
Bavaria uses an open-list system for the constituency seats. For the distribution of list seats, a candidate is ranked within the list by the number of first votes received within the district plus the number of second votes received from voters elsewhere in the constituency. In this manner, voters collectively produce a list that is different from what the party submitted, which can result in the defeat of candidates that would have been elected (and vice versa) had the election taken place under a closed-list system.
Next election
According to the Bavarian Constitution, the election must be held on a Sunday "at the earliest 59 months, at the latest 62 months" after the preceding state elections [7] unless the Landtag is dissolved, in this case the new election shall be held at the latest on the sixth Sunday after the dissolution. The elections since 1978 have always taken place between mid-September and mid-October. The next election is expected to take place in 2028.
Past elections
The state election was held on 8 October 2023. The CSU formed a government with the Free Voters of Bavaria.
The state election was held on 14 October 2018. The CSU lost its majority with a worse result than in 2008.
The state election was held on 15 September 2013. The CSU won an absolute majority of the seats in the Landtag, while the FDP, a coalition party in the outgoing Bavarian government, did not receive enough votes to enter the new parliament.
The state election was held on 28 September 2008. The CSU had its worst result since the
The state election was held on 21 September 2003. The CSU won more than two-thirds of the seats in the Landtag. No party in post-war German history had achieved this before.
See also
References
- ^ Artikel 13 (1) Bayerische Verfassung
- ^ Artikel 18 Bayerische Verfassung
- ^ Artikel 43 Bayerische Verfassung
- ^ List of the state ministries
- ^ Artikel 14 (1) Bayerische Verfassung
- ^ "Gesetz zur Änderung des Landeswahlgesetzes" (PDF). Bayerischer Landtag. 2017-03-31. Retrieved 2020-02-24.
- ^ Artikel 16 (1) Satz 3 Bayerische Verfassung
- ^ n-tv:Fiasko für die CSU