Verdict on Bundestag election mishaps shortly before Christmas
The extent to which the 2021 Bundestag election in Berlin will have to be repeated after the mishaps there will become clear on December 19. That is when the Federal Constitutional Court will announce its ruling on an election review complaint by the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag, as Germany's highest court announced on Friday.
One of the issues at stake is in how many constituencies the election must be repeated and whether casting the second vote - i.e. for a party or group - is sufficient in this case. A possible re-run of the Bundestag election would have to take place no later than 60 days after the verdict was announced.
In many polling stations in Berlin, the election on September 26, 2021 was chaotic: There were long queues and waiting times, incorrect or missing ballot papers. Polling stations had to close temporarily or remained open until well after 6 p.m. At the oral hearing in Karlsruhe in July, the Second Senate dealt with the question of whether such incidents should be assessed as electoral errors.
According to the Bundestag, 1713 objections were raised against the Bundestag election in the state of Berlin, including one from the Federal Returning Officer. On November 10, 2022, the Bundestag decided with the votes of the SPD, Greens and FDP parliamentary groups that the election would only be partially repeated. This affects 327 of the capital's 2256 constituencies and 104 of the 1507 postal voting districts. In the view of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, however, the decision is unlawful, partly because the Bundestag did not declare the election invalid in six constituencies contested by the Federal Returning Officer.
The CDU/CSU parliamentary group filed an electoral review complaint with the Federal Constitutional Court (case no. 2 BvC 4/23). In their view, the election should be repeated in more constituencies. The court has received several dozen other complaints relating to the Bundestag election, including one from the AfD parliamentary group.
At the hearing, the Berlin state electoral officer Stephan Bröchler pointed out that an election during the Advent period or around Christmas and New Year would be unfavorable because there could be a lack of poll workers, for example. However, he could not and did not want to give the Federal Constitutional Court any advice. Presiding Judge Doris König replied that the Senate would try to take this into account in the principle of expediting the proceedings.
He was to submit further information later. "The question was whether we could implement the decision of the Bundestag for a partial retrial," Bröchler had told the German Press Agency. He had already stated beforehand that Berlin was preparing for a complete repeat of the Bundestag election in the city as a precautionary measure.
Following the announcement of the date, Bröchler named February 11 as a possible date in the event of a repeat Bundestag election in Berlin. "A good date - with a few restrictions - would be February 11," he told dpa. 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 fly in the ointment from Bröchler's point of view: one or two people in the capital could still be on vacation. "That affects both voters and potential election workers," said Bröchler.
The Federal Constitutional Court is set to rule on the CDU/CSU's complaint about the election review in the Bundestag, stating whether the elections need to be repeated in more constituencies as per their argument. If the court upholds the CDU/CSU's complaint, Justice will require a new round of Bundestag elections to ensure the Constitution's principles of fair and democratic elections are upheld.
Source: www.dpa.com
