Senators file compliant against rules for rewarding parties in parliamentary elections

Eighteen senators from the upper house of parliament, the Senate, have filed a complaint with the Constitutional Court targeting the current system for paying political parties for election success. They say the system is unfair to the smallest parties and excessively rewards the bigger ones. The specific target of the complaint is a 6.0 million a year payment to parties that obtain 3.0 percent or more votes cast in elections to parliament. The sole reward for parties falling short of that target is 100 crowns for every votes gained. The court previously dealt with a similar complaint in 2003 when it refused to rule against the system. Most of the senators making the complaint come from the small STAN party.

Author: Chris Johnstone