Court Approves FDP-Led Petition to Limit Baden-Württemberg Landtag Size

The Verfassungsgerichtshof ruled that a proposed law to reduce legislative seats in the state parliament can proceed to public signature collection.

The Verfassungsgerichtshof in Stuttgart ruled in favor of the FDP's petition to prevent the expansion of the Baden-Württemberg Landtag, overturning the Interior Ministry's previous rejection.
The FDP's proposed reform seeks to reduce the number of electoral districts from 70 to 38, aiming to limit the number of overhang and compensation mandates that inflate the parliament's size.
The current election system, introduced in 2022, combines direct and proportional representation, with overhang and compensation mandates increasing the Landtag's size to 154 members, potentially exceeding 200 in the future.
Critics, including the FDP, highlight the financial burden of a larger Landtag, with the Landesrechnungshof estimating up to €200 million in additional costs for the next legislative period.
The Interior Ministry must now publish the petition and allow the collection of approximately 770,000 signatures needed for the proposal to advance, though changes are unlikely to affect the 2026 state election due to procedural timelines.