Overview

• The Thuringian Constitutional Court has ruled that the five-percent electoral threshold remains valid and binding under the state constitution.
• The Ökologisch-Demokratische Partei (ÖDP) had filed a challenge seeking to abolish or lower the threshold, which bars parties receiving less than five percent of votes from entering the state parliament.
• The court declared the ÖDP’s application inadmissible, stating that the threshold is explicitly enshrined in the Thuringian constitution.
• This decision follows a March oral hearing and a prior failed emergency injunction by the ÖDP in 2024 to suspend the rule ahead of elections.
• The five-percent threshold is a standard feature of German electoral systems, designed to prevent fragmentation in legislative bodies.