A great and hard-won success: Federal Election Commissioner pulls the ripcord and withdraws her threatened ban on the MLPD's participation in the national elections!

On 20 December, the Office of the Federal Election Commissioner in Wiesbaden sent an e-mail to the Chairwoman of the MLPD, Gabi Fechtner. In it she stated: ”The preliminary examination of your notification by the Federal Election Commissioner has shown that the legal requirements according to § 18, paragraph 2 of the German Federal Election Act are fulfilled.”

This is a great success of the membership of the MLPD and the overwhelming solidarity from the democratic and revolutionary movement in Germany and internationally. They expressed their protest against the threat and their solidarity with the MLPD in countless letters, resolutions and statements.

Gabi Fechtner stated last night: “This is a resounding failure of the most fiercely anticommunist-motivated attempt so far to arbitrarily deprive the MLPD of its right to exist as a party, having no legal basis. I congratulate our members and all those who stood in solidarity with the MLPD in this highly explosive political dispute. This closing of ranks is a counterweight to the reactionary turn toward an intensified rightward development initiated by those in power.”

It is to be welcomed that the Federal Election Commissioner Officer changes her mind. However, it is shabby of her to sneak away without saying a self-critical word about her original approach. She wanted to withdraw the MLPD's right to participate in the national elections on formal legal grounds. Allegedly, the party leadership was “not capable of acting” because it could not claim a party congress mandate. Now she let a succinct statement be made: “A new notification of participation was then issued, dated 16 December 2024. At its meeting on 10 December 2024, the Federal Election Committee also determined that the notification of participation and the affidavit submitted at the meeting provided suitable proof of the adoption of the current statutes and program.” Not a word more that on this 10 December, the Federal Election Committee followed the motion of the Federal Election Commissioner with 7 to 3 votes. As if it hadn't happened that representatives of the CDU, CSU, AfD and Greens raised their hands. In doing so, they signaled their willingness to go against the law when it comes to the MLPD and its goal of genuine socialism.

Gabi Fechtner again: “I am speaking of an extraordinary success in the struggle to defend democratic rights and freedoms and against anticommunism and reaction. We had already collected more than 45,000 signatures for our registration. As is well known, success is very encouraging. I am sure that our members and the considerably larger number of supporters will perform at their best in the election campaign and more than prove their ability to act. At the same time, we must remain vigilant, because the social environment remains reactionary and a lot can still happen before the decisive meeting of the election committee in January. There will certainly be forces that want to build a front against the MLPD's participation in the elections. In this respect, the motto remains: now more than ever!”