Germany’s conservative bloc, the CDU/CSU, has expressed reservations regarding a proposal by Bundestag Vice President Omid Nouripour (Green Party) to consolidate election dates and extend the parliamentary term to five years
Ansgar Heveling, legal counsel for the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, acknowledged that combining election dates “appears to offer increased efficiency” in comments to the “Rheinische Post” newspaper However, he emphasized that within Germany’s federal system, the autonomy of the individual states is a crucial element “Therefore, they alone can decide on election dates and uniform dates cannot be mandated” he stated
Nouripour initially proposed in “Bild” newspaper the coordination of federal and local elections on the same day, followed by the consolidation of all state elections midway through the Bundestag’s term He further suggested extending the parliamentary term from four to five years, arguing this would allow for more time to implement political initiatives The proposal aims to streamline the electoral process and potentially improve governance efficiency