In view of the pending proceedings at the Federal Constitutional Court, Berlin is preparing for a complete repeat election to the Bundestag at all polling stations, not just in some of them. That said state returning officer Stephan Bröchler on Monday in a video published on YouTube. “My office and I, together with the districts, are preparing the maximum scenario: a complete repeat election to the German Bundestag,” explained Bröchler. “The preparations are part of the planning for the European Parliament elections on June 9, 2024, which we have already started.”
In the previous week, Bröchler took part in a hearing of the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe. The Union faction in the Bundestag had sued because it did not consider the parliamentary decision to repeat the election of September 26, 2021 in a smaller part of the Berlin electoral districts to be far enough. In November 2022, the Bundestag decided with the votes of the traffic light coalition that new elections had to be held in 327 of the 2,256 constituencies and in 104 of the 1,507 postal voting districts.
“We will have 30 days less.”
“After the hearing, we have no clues about the exact time of the verdict nor whether a full or partial repeat election needs to be held,” said Bröchler in his YouTube video. The only thing that is certain is that the election must take place within 60 days after a judgment has been pronounced. “We will have 30 days less than in the repeat election in February,” said Bröchler, referring to the complete repeat election for the House of Representatives a good five months ago. “This means a renewed effort for the state returning authority and districts.”
The elections to the Bundestag and the House of Representatives on September 26, 2021 in Berlin were marked by many problems and shortcomings. These included long queues and waiting times in front of polling stations, incorrect or missing ballot papers. Polling stations had to close temporarily or stay open well after 6 p.m.