For the time being, the AfD parliamentary group in the Bundestag must continue to do without chairing three committees. The Federal Constitutional Court rejected the provisional appointment of the AfD candidates not elected by the other MPs, as announced in Karlsruhe on Thursday. The final decision on the main issue is still pending.
The interior and health committees as well as the committee for development cooperation fell to the AfD. Usually, the parliamentary groups then simply nominate the chairperson for their respective committees – an election is only held in the event of an objection. The other MPs failed the AfD candidates in all three committees on December 15.
The AfD claims that in this way it is denied equal participation. With the urgent application, the parliamentary group wants to ensure that the parliamentarians it has nominated are temporarily appointed as committee chairmen until their complaint in Karlsruhe has been finally examined. This is directed against the Bundestag, its Presidium and the committees concerned.
There had already been a dispute in the previous election period. At that time, the AfD MP Stephan Brandner initially received the necessary majority in a secret ballot to take over the chairmanship of the legal committee. In November 2019, however, he was recalled – a unique event in the history of the Bundestag. The reason for this were several scandals that Brandner had triggered.
