The federal election must be repeated in other districts in Berlin

According to the Federal Constitutional Court, the 2021 federal election in Berlin must be repeated in 455 electoral districts – 31 more than decided by the Bundestag last year. The Union faction’s election audit complaint was only partially successful.

Due to numerous breakdowns, the 2021 federal election in Berlin will have to be partially repeated. This has been decided by the Federal Constitutional Court. The vote must be repeated in 455 electoral districts and the associated postal voting districts, said presiding judge Doris König. The background is an election audit complaint from the Union parliamentary group in the Bundestag, which was otherwise rejected.

The repeat election should be carried out as a two-vote election, i.e. with first and second votes, said König. According to the Berlin state returning officer, the election must take place within 60 days of the verdict being announced. The last possible and most likely date is February 11, 2024.

Missing ballots, long lines

Election day on September 26, 2021 was chaotic in many polling stations in Berlin. People had to wait a long time and queue at polling stations; ballot papers were incorrect or missing entirely. Polling stations temporarily had to close or remained open until well after 6 p.m.

In November 2022, the Bundestag decided with the votes of the traffic light factions that the election would be partially repeated. This would have affected 327 of the capital’s 2,256 electoral districts and 104 of the 1,507 postal voting districts.

Traffic light majority is not considered to be at risk

From the perspective of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag, that was not enough. She considers the decision to be unlawful, among other things because the Bundestag did not declare the election invalid as a whole in six constituencies contested by the Federal Returning Officer. The Union faction therefore demanded that the second votes for the party lists be cast again in half of the Berlin constituencies. However, the Federal Constitutional Court rejected such a significant expansion, as well as a repetition throughout Berlin.

The majority of the ruling traffic light coalition is not considered to be at risk by the partial repeat election, as the votes from Berlin cannot influence the result.

Relief for the Left Party

Before the verdict, there was a lot of speculation about what consequences it could have for the Left Party. So far she has only been able to enter the Bundestag through three direct mandates, two of which came from Berlin. If she were to lose even one direct mandate, she would no longer be represented in the Bundestag.

According to the party, this is now not possible. “With the verdict it is clear that we will remain in the Bundestag and continue to fulfill our role as a social opposition,” said former parliamentary group leader Dietmar Bartsch. This partial repetition could not change the outcome in the two constituencies in which the Left won direct mandates.