Mandate (politics)

by a mandate (given by Latin ex manu date „from the hand “) one understands the political order for agency , which the choice people gives to a member legislations of a committee in connection with representative democracies. The members of committees concerned accordingly „one-dated “, called in Austria also „authorized agents “; a further usual term is „a delegate “. The responsibility and/or the bundle at powers, which gives the choice people to the owner executives of a function, does not become as mandate, but when office marks. Different thinking directions regard a separation from office and mandate as desirable.

One differentiates mandate between „the free in such a way specified “and in such a way specified „imperativen “: A free mandate binds the one-dated at no concrete orders or instructions; the imperative mandate required of the one-dated to move within a firmly given framework. A choice into one national, regional and local parliaments of Germany or Austria or in the European parliament accompanies with a free mandate; in connection with the committees mentioned party discipline so mentioned often did not discuss existed thus in the theory. The liberty of the mandate becomes for instance in Germany by kind. 38 exp. 1 S. 2 GG guarantees. In addition the membership in one of the committees mentioned depends only on the choice, not of the membership in a certain political party, a parliamentary group or an other group. Delegates to German or Austrian parliaments or to the European parliament can withdraw thus for instance from their party, change the parliamentary group or take part even in the establishment of a new parliamentary group, without its mandate would expire thereby.

By an excessive mandate one understands those seats of a party in the Bundestag, a federal state parliament or a Kreistag or a local council, which go beyond the number of seats in Germany, which would be entitled to her due to the portion of the obtained voices with a choice.