According to media reports, after the series of breakdowns in the Bundestag elections in Berlin, the traffic light officials in the Bundestag’s Election Review Committee are calling for a partial repetition of the election. This should happen in about 400 of the approximately 2,300 polling stations, the report mirrorthe daily mirror and the rbb. All twelve Berlin Bundestag constituencies would be affected. The Bundestag administration should develop a corresponding recommendation for a resolution, which the Bundestag should only vote on in a few months.
The right to vote is the central opportunity for citizens to participate, said the SPD chairman in the election examination committee, Johannes Fechner mirror. “Therefore, electoral errors of this magnitude must be corrected by new elections so that all citizens have an equal opportunity to exercise their right to vote and so that their votes get the weight they deserve.”
As Fechner told rbb, a fundamental decision has now been made by the traffic light coalition in the federal government. However, the actual vote in the election examination committee will probably not take place until October. Then it would have to be voted on in the Bundestag itself. This could happen a few days later. If the Bundestag plenary votes in favor of repeating the elections in Berlin, Fechner says he believes that partial new elections in Berlin in the spring of 2023 are realistic.
Expert report on the election chaos
The elections for the Bundestag and, at the same time, for the Berlin House of Representatives on September 26 were marked by numerous mishaps and organizational problems in the capital. These included incorrect or missing ballot papers, the temporary closure of polling stations and long queues in front of them, sometimes with waiting times lasting hours. In addition, some polling stations were still open well after 6 p.m.
On Wednesday, a commission of experts set up by the Berlin Senate presented its report on the election chaos and listed numerous deficits. Among other things, this was due to unclear responsibilities, and the complexity of the election Sunday with four ballots in the capital was massively underestimated. In addition to the elections to the Bundestag and the House of Representatives, the district assemblies were also reorganized. There was also a referendum on the expropriation of large housing groups.
Union: traffic light proposal too little
The advance of the traffic light parties in the election examination committee surprised. Federal Returning Officer Georg Thiel, who criticizes a “complete systematic failure of the electoral organization” in Berlin, has demanded a complete re-election in six of the twelve constituencies – that would be around 1,200 polling stations. After his hearing in May, the committee chair Daniela Ludwig (CSU) said that a recommendation would only be made after the summer break.
The Union is also calling for a complete new election in six constituencies. In addition, she wants to vote again in 50 selected polling stations in the other six constituencies. The traffic light proposal “is definitely not enough and doesn’t even begin to do justice to the chaos in the elections in Berlin,” said the committee rapporteur for the CDU/CSU, Patrick Schnieder (CDU), of the German Press Agency in Berlin. “We think it’s essential that more than 1,200 polling stations hold new elections, while the traffic light wants to be limited to 400.” The Berlin state election authority wanted the representatives of the traffic light coalition to agree daily mirror-Do not comment on request.