display
Düsseldorf (dpa / lnw) - The state parliament decided on Wednesday a new layout of the constituencies in North Rhine-Westphalia.
In future, the 128 electoral districts will no longer be divided according to the number of inhabitants, but rather according to the number of eligible voters living there.
In addition, the state election committee for the state elections will in future include two judges from the Higher Administrative Court.
The governing coalition of the CDU and FDP voted for the corresponding amendment to the state election law.
The SPD and AfD voted against, the Greens abstained.
The new constituency layout follows the constitutionally prescribed principle that each vote in a municipality must have approximately the same weight in order to guarantee equal opportunities for the candidates.
Equal electoral law requires a constituency division on the basis of eligible voters, i.e. without taking into account the underage population, according to the draft law.
display
The Greens criticized the fact that in individual constituencies, for example Münster, there could be the suspicion that the government factions wanted to gain advantages through the redesign.
In addition, there are calculations according to which the state parliament could grow in the coming legislative period from currently 199 to 225 to 315 members.
If such growth is to be prevented, a moderate reduction in the constituencies could be the way, said Green parliamentary group leader Verena Schäffer.
Against the background of the ongoing corona pandemic, the state parliament also made provisions for the NRW state election in May 2022. In the event of force majeure such as natural disasters, parties can then, exceptionally, nominate candidates without a constellation.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210127-99-195452 / 2
Bill