How would re-elections work?

(CS) Calls for re-elections by the opposition parties in Luxembourg are rife, and even the government is not ruling out early elections. But what would the process of dissolving parliament and the government actually look like?

Ahead of re-elections the parliament needs to be dissolved, which can only happen by order of the Grand Duke. However, the Grand Duke would presumably act on the initiative of the government or the opposition parties.

While the introduction of a vote of confidence in parliament earlier this month failed, a successful motion against the government would not necessarily lead to re-elections. The Grand Duke could alternatively nominate a so-called “formateur” to form a new government.

However, considering the current majority ratio of the CSV/LSAP coalition this seems unlikely. Should the coalition break, re-elections are nearly inevitable.

The same regulations apply should the government itself put forward a vote of confidence, either as a possible demonstration of strength or to push for early re-elections, as a way out of the crisis.

Summer campaign and October re-elections?

If parliament is dissolved by the Grand Duke, re-elections need to follow within three months.

A date currently speculated in government circles for a dissolution of parliament is mid-July, ahead of the Summer break and following the publication of the final report of the secret service enquiry commission, around which much of the crisis revolves.

This would mean a Summer campaign and re-elections in October, some eight months ahead of the regular national elections scheduled for May 2014.

However, there is a problem with the current regulation. Once parliament is dissolved the mandates of all MPs also come to an end, which would mean that there are no representatives for three months.

The government would continue to exist, but would not be able to pass any laws, and the country could face a constitutional vacuum as well as being more or less ungoverned.

A constitutional reform, which has been in the works since 2009, is meant to address this issue, but is unlikely to be passed during the current legislature, with or without re-elections.

Reporting by Christoph Bumb