February 11 would be a good date for a repeat election
In the event of a repeat of the Bundestag election in Berlin, state election director Stephan Bröchler expects a date in the first half of February. The Federal Constitutional Court plans to announce its ruling on the mishaps in the 2021 election on December 19, as Germany's highest court announced in Karlsruhe on Friday. "At least we now know when the announcement date is and then whether it will be a complete or partial repeat election," Bröchler told the German Press Agency. "A good date - with a few restrictions - would be February 11."
This would still fall within the prescribed period of 60 days after the announcement date and is the last Sunday before school starts again in Berlin after the winter vacations. A small drop of bitterness from Bröchler's point of view: one or two people in the capital could still be on vacation. "This affects both voters and potential election workers," said Bröchler.
Bröchler sees the prospect of soon knowing what Berlin has to prepare for as positive: "It's definitely a relief," he said. "Also because we've always been in this mode of looking from week to week: What is Karlsruhe doing? When will the announcement date be announced?" He said he was really relieved that the date had now been set.
"We are now an important step closer to a repeat election - if it takes place," said the administrative scientist. "Theoretically, it is still possible that we won't have to hold a by-election, but I think that is very unlikely."
Together with the districts, preparations are already underway for the European Parliament elections in June on the one hand and the possible repeat election on the other. "In terms of what we can prepare without knowing whether it will be a full or partial re-run, we are very much on schedule," said Bröchler.
There were numerous glitches and problems during the elections to the Bundestag and the House of Representatives on September 26, 2021. Among other things, there were long waiting times outside polling stations, some incorrect ballot papers were issued, polling stations had to close temporarily or remained open until well after 6 p.m. In November 2022, the Bundestag decided with the votes of the traffic light coalition that a new election would have to be held in 327 of the 2256 constituencies due to electoral mishaps, as well as in 104 of the 1507 postal voting districts. The CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag had filed a complaint against this because it did not consider a rerun in only a small number of Berlin constituencies to be extensive enough. The House of Representatives election was completely repeated in February.
If the Bundestag election in Berlin needs to be repeated, it might occur in the first half of February, as suggested by Stephan Bröchler. In such a scenario, the elections to the German Bundestag and the House of Representatives could serve as a precedent, with February 11 being a potential date for the repeat elections.
Source: www.dpa.com
