German first lady, has some advice on joint elections

NEW DELHI: At a time when the Narendra Modi government is actively pushing for one-nation one-election, Germany’s first lady has given the Indian government officials an insight into Germany’s system of simultaneous elections.

Elke Budenbender, who has served as a Judge, met the Law Commission chairman and members on Saturday to discuss the issue of simultaneous elections.

In an interaction which lasted for over 70 minutes, the first lady led a 14-member delegation, including three German professors, one of whom was an Indian, Amrita Narlikar.


Elaborating on Germany’s system, Elke shared a unique provision which the German constitution provides for “fair play” in elections.

Article 67 of the German constitution provides for a “constructive no confidence motion”. According to the said Article, even if a no-confidence motion moved against an incumbent government succeeds, the current government leader will not be removed unless his challenger is able to prove majority in the House within a limited period of time.

The Indian constitution does not provide for extension of the House if a no-confidence motion succeeds. “Such a provision can usher in stability and robustness if introduced in the Indian constitution. For elections need not be held again if another leader is unable to provide his majority,” said a top government official privy to the discussions.

ET has reliably learnt that Elke also met the Chief Justice of India (CJI) for an informal discussion. A student of law, she has worked as a Judge at the Hanover Administrative Court.

In its Saturday meeting with the Law Commission, Chairman Justice (retd) BS Chauhan and other members of the Commission, she also deliberated upon various other legal issues.

She discussed the contentious issue of uniform civil code (UCC) seeking to understand how the Indian government plans to bring uniformity-in-diversity.

The professors accompanying her tried to understand Indian family laws because the German courts are often confronted with cases where one spouse of the sparring couple is from India.

The German courts usually seek the assistance of German professors and legal luminaries who are not well versed with the Indian family laws, shared a government official aware of the discussions.