Judgment of the BvG - Bundestag election must be partly repeated in Berlin
The Bundestag election in Berlin must be repeated. This was decided by the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe. The background to this is an electoral review complaint by the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag. The election two years ago was chaotic in many polling stations in Berlin: People had to wait a long time and queue, ballot papers were incorrect or missing altogether. Polling stations had to close temporarily or remained open until well after 6 pm.
The Bundestag received 1713 objections to the Bundestag election in the state of Berlin, including one from the Federal Returning Officer. That was around eight times as many objections as in previous elections, said Judge Peter Müller at the hearing in July. An "unprecedented number". In November 2022, the Bundestag decided with the votes of the SPD, Greens and FDP parliamentary groups that the election would be partially repeated. This would affect 327 of the capital's 2256 constituencies and 104 of the 1507 postal voting districts.
In the view of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag, however, the decision is unlawful, partly because the Bundestag did not declare the election invalid in six constituencies contested by the Federal Returning Officer. From the point of view of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, the election would therefore have to be repeated in more constituencies. The last possible day for a repeat election would be February 11, Berlin state election officer Stephan Bröchler had explained.
More on this shortly.
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The CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag is challenging the legality of the Federal Constitutional Court's decision to partially repeat the Berlin Bundestag election, arguing that more constituencies should be included due to the Bundestag's failure to declare the election invalid in certain contested areas. The Federal Constitutional Court, located in Karlsruhe, made the decision to repeat the Berlin Bundestag election following an electoral review complaint by the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, citing chaotic conditions and numerous objections during the original election. The repeat election, affecting 327 constituencies and 104 postal voting districts, was approved by the Bundestag, with the votes of the SPD, Greens, and FDP parliamentary groups in November 2022.
Source: www.stern.de
