CDU faction in Saxony-Anhalt faces row over affidavit after AfD Landtag president vote

A sworn statement at a faction meeting

Nius first reported that CDU lawmakers in Saxony-Anhalt were asked to sign an affidavit, and several CDU members then confirmed this to dpa. The statement would have required them to swear that they had made no arrangements with AfD representatives and had not voted for Tobias Rausch as Landtag president or Hans-Thomas Tillschneider as vice president. According to Berliner Zeitung, the paper was discussed at a faction meeting on 13 October but ultimately dropped, because the members involved considered the approach untenable. Not all 15 CDU lawmakers signed it. If the opposite were proven, those who had signed would have had to give up their mandate immediately.

Sven Schulze, the CDU faction leader, says he had nothing to do with the document. When Nius asked him about the report, he gave a short denial:

“No. That is not true.”

The votes and the suspicion

Rausch and Tillschneider were elected in early October, with Berliner Zeitung giving 6 October as the date of the Landtag presidium vote, and their election drew votes from outside the AfD. DIE WELT reports that Rausch received four more votes than the AfD and BSW together hold seats, while Tillschneider's election as vice president came as a surprise. The ballot was secret, so no lawmaker has said publicly how they voted. N-tv writes that much suggests CDU lawmakers also backed Rausch, a suspicion the CDU faction has consistently rejected. The AfD is classified as confirmed right-wing extremist in Saxony-Anhalt, and Rausch is the first AfD Landtag president of any German parliament.

Legal doubts and reader reaction

Berliner Zeitung reports that it is unclear whether such an affidavit would have any legal effect. Under the state constitution, deputies are bound by neither orders nor instructions, and the vote for the Landtag president is secret. It is also unclear what legal consequences a false affidavit could carry. Readers who commented on Focus online largely saw the free mandate under pressure, and some asked for a legal review. Only a few considered the declaration a legitimate way to reinforce what deputies had said.

Calls for resignation and divisions

Former CDU Landtag member Alexander Räuscher has demanded that Sven Schulze step down as acting minister-president and CDU faction leader, as DIE WELT calls him. Räuscher told the paper:

“Demanding such a declaration reflects an absurd understanding of democracy.”

N-tv reports that CDU lawmakers plan to leave the chamber during the first two ballots of the December vote on the minister-president, which would prevent them from voting for AfD top candidate Ulrich Siegmund. CDU lawmaker Guido Heuer has announced he will not leave the chamber, which goes against the agreed line of the faction. Several members have also told MDR that they are considering leaving the faction to form their own parliamentary group.