AfD also fails with a new candidate in the election for Bundestag Vice President

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AfD politician Malte Kaufmann: 556 MPs voted against his appointment to the Parliamentary Presidency

Photo: Sebastian Gabsch / imago images/Future Image

In the Bundestag, it has long been customary for all parliamentary groups to be represented in the Presidium, with each parliamentary group being entitled to at least one seat.

However, the members must also be elected by a majority of the plenary session.

Since the party entered the Bundestag in 2017, however, all six candidates proposed by the AfD have failed to obtain the necessary majority.

Now the AfD started a new attempt with the Heidelberg MP Malte Kaufmann – again in vain.

Malte Kaufmann received 92 yes votes, 556 MPs voted against his appointment to the Parliamentary Presidency.

Another 19 abstained.

A majority of 369 votes is required to be elected.

It was only at the beginning of April that his AfD colleague Michael Kaufmann failed at the third attempt in the election, previously in October and December.

The AfD parliamentary group had complained about the ongoing poor election process.

She saw her right to parliamentary participation as limited.

But it was not until March that the Federal Constitutional Court ruled that the AfD parliamentary group cannot demand that its candidates be elected to the presidium.

According to the Basic Law, the Bundestag is not obliged to organize the election in such a way that candidates from the AfD parliamentary group are also supported, according to the second Senate.

The choice is free.

There is no obligation to elect a specific candidate, the court said in its written decision.

AfD also fails with new elections in the control committee

The secret service control of the Bundestag continues to take place without AfD participation.

In March, the Parliamentary Control Committee (PKGr) was newly appointed.

The body aims to better monitor the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, the Federal Intelligence Service and the Military Counterintelligence Service.

However, MPs from AfD and Linke failed in the elections.

The body was filled with eleven instead of the planned 13 deputies.

The AfD had again nominated their MP Joachim Wundrak for election.

He also failed in this ballot - 94 MPs voted for him, 549 voted no, 23 abstained.

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