Prime Minister election: Greens call for No option

The Greens believe that members of the state parliament must be given the opportunity to vote no in the election of the Saxon Minister President. The Green parliamentary group plans to submit a corresponding motion before the vote on Wednesday, announced Valentin Lippmann, Parliamentary Secretary of the parliamentary group.

In November, the Greens commissioned Fabian Michl, junior professor at the University of Leipzig, with a legal opinion, as Lippmann said. Michl came to the conclusion that no-votes must be allowed for more than one candidate.

This is particularly relevant in the second round of voting, as an absolute majority of 61 votes is no longer required, but only a simple majority, i.e. the most votes cast - without abstentions. "If I don't allow no votes, the following happens: MPs who don't want to vote for any of the two or three candidates have to abstain," explained Michl. However, as abstentions are not counted, these MPs would not be able to express that they do not want to vote for any of the candidates.

President of the state parliament: No vote only envisaged for one candidate

The president of the state parliament, Alexander Dierks (CDU), assessed the legal situation differently. According to his opinion, which he based on the legal service of the state parliament, a "no" vote is only provided for in the event that only one candidate stands in a ballot, the state parliament announced. MPs would not be entitled to deliberately prevent the election of a prime minister by casting a "no" vote.

If there is more than one candidate, they can choose between the candidates or abstain. The state parliament also refers to the possibility of each member of parliament to submit an additional election proposal.

According to the information provided, Dierks has also commissioned an expert opinion. The results should be available on Tuesday.

Election of the Prime Minister on Wednesday

The election of the Prime Minister is planned for Wednesday. In addition to incumbent Michael Kretschmer (CDU), AfD state leader Jörg Urban and the candidate of the Free Voters, Matthias Berger, want to run. It is not yet clear whether there will be a three-way fight in the first round of voting or whether Urban and Berger will only run in a possible second round.