election observer
Berlin election: “Overall impression that everything is going really well”
Election observers from the European Council enter a polling station in Berlin. photo
© Fabian Sommer/dpa
Due to serious breakdowns, long queues and delays, the Berlin House of Representatives election will be repeated today. International election observers draw a positive interim conclusion.
On Sunday afternoon, the international election observers of the Council of Europe were satisfied with the course of the repeat elections in Berlin. “The overall impression is that everything is going really well,” said delegation head Vladimir Prebilic of the German Press Agency before the polling stations closed. “Things are really well organized, I have to say.”
The ten-strong delegation from the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe visited polling stations in all twelve districts of Berlin in small teams. According to Prebilic, they spoke to electoral officers and observed the processes. The election workers knew what to do, there weren’t long queues, and nobody complained, Prebilic said.
There have been minor difficulties, he added. He added that election observers initially received no information because their visit was not expected. But these are isolated cases. “We are very satisfied with what we saw,” emphasized the Slovenian in the interview, which was conducted in English.
Small suggestions for improvement
Prebilic acknowledged the changes compared to the glitched September 2021 election. So there were now more ballot boxes, more poll workers and a smaller number of eligible voters per polling station. Ballot papers would also be kept in large numbers. “That is very reassuring, not only for us, but also for democracy in Germany,” said the head of the delegation.
In talks at the polling stations, he experienced great confidence in the system. The situation is different with the administration: “They may not enjoy quite as much trust from the people.”
Prebilic had a suggestion for improvement: From his point of view, transparent ballot boxes would be better than the steel boxes used in Berlin. This creates transparency and trust. “There are small things that could be considered for the next elections,” he said.
The Council of Europe is an international organization founded in 1949 and based in Strasbourg. The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities is an advisory body designed to give local authorities a voice in the Council of Europe. Berlin’s state returning officer Stephan Bröchler had also invited election observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation. However, the OSCE did not consider an observation necessary.
Press release on the observer mission