New allegations against AfD politician Arno Bausemer – State parliament can lift immunity

Bausemer is a member of the state parliament of Saxony-Anhalt and, according to party information, belongs to the AfD parliamentary group. As long as he is a member of parliament, he enjoys immunity under the state constitution. This means that criminal proceedings against him are only possible if the state parliament expressly requests it.

What the state constitution provides

This regulation is anchored in the state constitution. The constitution states verbatim: "Allerdings war laut Landesverfassung jede Strafverfolgungsmaßnahme, Haft oder sonstige Beschränkung der persönlichen Freiheit eines Abgeordneten auszusetzen, wenn der Landtag dies verlangte." Without a corresponding resolution by the state parliament, the public prosecutor's office cannot act.

MDR was the first to report on the new allegations. The Stendal public prosecutor's office was restrained in its response to inquiries and referred to the ongoing proceedings. Bausemer himself has also not publicly commented on the allegations so far.

It remains unclear to what extent the state parliament of Saxony-Anhalt will deliberate on lifting immunity. According to information from the state parliament, parliamentary procedures of this kind fall within the remit of the Council of Elders and are deliberated there before being brought to the plenary.

Role of the public prosecutor's office

Observers point out that lifting immunity is not a conviction. It is a constitutional prerequisite for investigations against a member of parliament to become possible in the first place.

The name Arno Bausemer has previously come up in connection with political controversies. His voting behavior in the state parliament has also been publicly discussed repeatedly. However, according to MDR, the allegations now made public are of a new nature.

Impact on the state parliament

According to the current state of affairs, Bausemer is not active in the European Parliament; the allegations relate exclusively to his role as a member of the state parliament in Saxony-Anhalt. The Stendal public prosecutor's office emphasized that the presumption of innocence applies until a final judgment is reached.

As the responsible public prosecutor Thomas Kramer told MDR, the results of the investigation will be awaited before further steps are taken. Only then can an application to lift immunity be filed.

Political observers in Saxony-Anhalt expect that the case will spark discussions in the state parliament in the coming weeks. Regardless of the outcome of the investigations, the incident shines a spotlight on the question of how the rule of law deals with allegations against sitting members of parliament.