As of: February 12, 2024, 4:05 a.m
By: Christoph Gschoßmann, Lukas Rogalla, Stephanie Munk, Nils Hinsberger
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The partial repeat of the federal election in Berlin has ended.
The Federal Returning Officer will announce the result on Monday night.
The ticker.
Polling stations closed: gains for AfD and CDU are emerging
Bundestag election
to be
repeated
: Does the traffic light coalition have to fear for the government?
On February 11th, after the 2021 breakdown disaster, the federal election will be repeated - but only partially.
This news ticker is constantly updated.
Update from February 12th, 4:00 a.m.:
The traffic light parties suffered losses in the repeat election in parts of Berlin.
According to the state election authorities, the SPD remains the strongest force with 22.2 percent of the vote, but lost 1.2 percent compared to 2021.
The Greens lost 0.3 percent and came to 22 percent, the FDP lost 0.9 percent and came to 8.1 percent.
The CDU and AfD gained slightly at 1.3 and 1 percent.
There were no changes to direct mandates.
As expected, turnout in the repeat election was significantly below the figures for the federal election in September 2021.
The partial repetition of the federal election in Berlin led to a reduction in the size of parliament by one seat at the expense of the FDP.
The Bundestag will now have 735 members, including only 91 from the FDP, as the Federal Returning Officer announced on Monday night.
For the other parties, the bottom line is that the number of seats remains unchanged.
Due to numerous breakdowns, the 2021 federal election in Berlin will have to be partially repeated.
© Christoph Soeder/dpa
Partial repeat of the federal election: Kühnert defends direct mandate
Update from February 11th, 10:55 p.m.:
She is in custody, but Birgit Malsack-Winkemann slightly improved her result from 2021 in the partial repeat of the federal election in Berlin.
According to the state election authorities, she received 5.5 percent of the first votes in her Steglitz-Zehlendorf constituency on Sunday, which is 0.2 percentage points more than in the original federal election.
At that time she was not returned to the Bundestag.
The Federal Prosecutor's Office accuses her of membership and support of a (right-wing) terrorist organization.
She has admitted some of the allegations, but denies that the group has a terrorist aim.
In December 2022, like numerous other suspects, she was arrested in a major raid.
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Kevin Kühnert, however, defended his direct mandate in the Bundestag.
According to the state election authorities on Sunday, the SPD general secretary lost slightly in the first votes compared to the first attempt in 2021, but ended up in first place in the Tempelhof-Schöneberg constituency in the overall result with 26.7 percent.
The overall result is made up of the votes cast on Sunday and those still valid in the original election on September 26, 2021.
Left-wing politician Gregor Gysi also retains his direct mandate.
He landed at 34.5 percent, a loss of 0.1 percent.
Berlin's former governing mayor Michael Müller (SPD) also remains just ahead.
In Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf, according to
RBB
, he lost 2.3 percentage points, but was able to defend his direct mandate with 25.6 percent, just ahead of Klaus-Dieter Gröhler (CDU, 25.1 percent).
CDU state leader sees Berlin repeat election as a call for a change of course for Scholz
Update from February 11th, 9:25 p.m.:
The Berlin CDU state leader Kai Wegner sees the emerging result of the partial repeat of the federal election in Berlin as a call to Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) for a change of course.
Expected losses for the Social Democrats are a “clear signal” to the federal government, said the capital’s governing mayor on Sunday evening on
RBB
.
He expects “the Chancellor to break his silence on how he wants to get this country back on track.”
The first Berlin-wide counting results around 8:30 p.m. showed gains for the CDU and AfD as well as losses for the traffic light parties SPD, FDP and Greens compared to the original result.
At this point, however, only two of twelve constituencies had been completely counted.
Berlin's Economics Senator Franziska Giffey (SPD) emphasized in the
RBB
that her party is still the strongest force according to the current count.
Right now it's about defending democracy, fighting poverty and securing prosperity, said Giffey.
The SPD must continue to work towards this at the federal level.
Regarding the AfD, Giffey said that the task of social democracy was “to stand up to this and make it very clear: We stand for a democratic society, we stand against right-wing agitation and hatred.”
Repeat election in Berlin: Slight gains for CDU and AfD
Update from February 11th, 8:40 p.m.:
There are signs of slight gains for the CDU and AfD in the partial repeat of the federal election in Berlin.
The traffic light parties SPD, Greens and FDP are losing some ground compared to the overall result for 2021.
This is based on information from the state election authority on the Internet, according to which around 95 percent of all electoral areas have been counted as of 8:15 p.m.
This information is based on the valid results from 2021 and the results of the partial repeat on Sunday that have already been counted.
Based on this still incomplete interim result, the CDU and AfD can expect an increase of around one percentage point.
The SPD, Greens and FDP must each expect losses of around 0.7 percentage points.
According to these interim results, the left remains roughly stable.
There will initially be no change to the order of the parties in the 2021 federal election.
At the first attempt at the election in Berlin, the SPD was ahead almost two and a half years ago (23.4 percent of the second votes), followed by the Greens (22.4), CDU (15.9), Left (11.4), FDP (9 .1) and AfD (8.4).
Voter turnout in Berlin is declining
Update from February 11th, 6:15 p.m.:
In the partial repeat of the federal election in Berlin, fewer people cast their votes by Sunday afternoon than in 2021. According to the state returning officer, 40.2 percent of those eligible to vote voted by 4 p.m. in the 455 affected electoral districts.
Converted to the whole of Berlin using the valid results from 2021, the voter turnout was 54.1 percent.
This was 3.8 percent less than in the original election.
No major breakdowns were reported this time.
Around a fifth of Berlin's electoral districts were affected by the partial repeat of the federal election.
Almost 550,000 eligible voters were called upon to vote again.
A change in the majority in the Bundestag is not expected.
However, shifts for individual MPs are possible.
Update from February 11th, 6 p.m.:
The polling stations in Berlin are closing, now the counting begins.
However, there are no classic forecasts/projections from the survey institutes at 6 p.m.
The preliminary final result is expected around 1:30 a.m.
Reports on interim results are possible in the evening.
Bundestag election repeated in parts of Berlin: Some MPs have to tremble
Update from February 11th, 5:55 p.m.:
More than two years after the federal election, it has to be repeated in parts of Berlin.
Now some MPs are worried about their mandate – but who is affected?
Update from February 11th, 5:10 p.m.:
In the partial repeat of the federal election in Berlin, fewer people initially cast their votes on Sunday than in 2021. At 12 p.m., the turnout extrapolated to the whole of Berlin was 25.4 percent, or two, according to the state election management Points lower than in the 2021 main election. The number is made up of voters in the valid electoral district results from 2021 and those in the 455 electoral districts with repeat elections.
If only the repeat districts are considered, there was a voter turnout of 18.3 percent at 12 p.m.
The polls close at 6 p.m.
Election in Berlin: Despite mishaps, everything is “green”
Update from February 11th, 4:26 p.m.:
According to state returning officer Stephan Bröchler, an electoral board in Kreuzberg was delayed due to an accident with a taxi, so that the polling station in question started with a delay.
“This can happen with the best organization,” said Bröchler.
At a polling station in Pankow, an electoral officer was replaced by his deputy because he was possibly drunk.
There were no delays there.
For Bröchler, these “low-threshold” cases are annoying, but there were no major incidents on Sunday until the early afternoon.
Everything is in the “green area”.
The state returning officer therefore continues to hope that voter turnout will not be low.
The polling stations had been open since 8 a.m. and were scheduled to close at 6 p.m.
Breakdown in Berlin polling station: State returning officer “regrets the incident”
Update from February 11th, 1:35 p.m.:
After the botched federal election in 2021, sensitivity to renewed mishaps in the Berlin election is particularly high.
There was actually an incident at a polling station in Berlin-Pankow this morning.
State returning officer Stephan Bröchler told broadcaster
rbb
that the election workers there were missing the key to an adjoining room.
But the voting documents were in this room.
However, the district election office was soon able to organize the key so that voting could start at around 8:40 a.m. at polling station 605/606, which is located in a daycare center.
A small queue of voters would have formed due to the breakdown.
“I very much regret that this incident occurred.
The district election office reacted as quickly as possible and we will also document this incident,” said Bröchler.
Update from February 11th, 11:25 a.m.:
Federal Returning Officer Ruth Brand thanked the election workers for the repeat election in Berlin during a visit to the electoral boards in Pankow and Mitte.
“The effort for you is just as great as in a full federal election throughout Germany,” said Brand.
This requires just as much commitment.
“This is extremely important for a vibrant democracy.” She wished “everyone a continued smooth running of election day.”
Berlin election is repeated today: “Mistakes must be healed”
Update from February 11th, 10:20 a.m.:
According to state returning officer Stephan Bröchler, important precautions have been taken to ensure that the repeat of the federal election in Berlin does not become a bankruptcy again: “The error must be cured and only we, the citizens, can do that,” he said that morning as he cast his ballot.
“I’m excited to see how things work out in Berlin today.”
There were serious organizational errors in the 2021 election.
This time, from Bröchler's point of view, there are enough voting booths, the polling stations have been selected again and a lot has been invested in training the poll workers.
Nevertheless, repeating the Berlin election is a big challenge.
“We had to organize the election within 55 days,” said Bröchler.
It had to be made clear who was eligible to vote and where they could vote.
“Wherever possible, we built bridges to make it easy for citizens to vote.”
Berlin election: Results should be announced gradually
Update from February 11th, 9:40 a.m.:
Around 800,000 ballot papers, 9,000 helpers - these are some of the numbers for today's repeat of the Berlin election.
The polls close at 6 p.m.
When will the first results be available?
In any case, according to a report in the
Berliner Zeitung,
there will be no forecasts.
The survey institutes had rejected this in advance, as no significant changes were expected in the 2021 federal election anyway.
Instead, the counted results should be announced gradually.
The state returning officer expects that a preliminary overall result can be announced around 1:30 a.m. on Monday night.
Berlin election will be repeated today: AfD direct candidate is in custody
Update from February 11th, 8:40 a.m.:
Will everything be better this time?
The polling stations in Berlin have now been open since 8 a.m. and close at 6 p.m.
549,549 Berliners in 455 electoral districts are called to vote.
Small shifts are possible by repeating the election.
Some MPs could lose their seats in the Bundestag, others could move into parliament.
Berlin currently has 29 of the 736 members of the Bundestag.
The focus of the Berlin election is on an AfD direct candidate who is currently in custody but can still be elected: Birgit Malsack-Winkemann was presumably part of the group around the entrepreneur Heinrich XIII.
Prince Reuss.
There is a suspicion that the people in question, close to the Reich citizens, had plans for a coup in Germany.
Fear of further chaos if the Berlin election is repeated
Berlin – After the election debacle of 2021, elections will be held again in Berlin.
455 electoral districts in all 12 constituencies vote on who should represent them in the Bundestag - over two years later.
The blame lies with a decision by the Federal Constitutional Court after the CDU and CSU sued over the botched election.
The reasons included incorrectly filled out ballot papers, partially closed polling stations or hours of waiting in front of the polling stations.
As the Federal Returning Authority announced in response to a request from
IPPEN.MEDIA
, around 550,000 eligible voters have been asked to go to the ballot box.
This means that just over a fifth of the voters registered for the 2021 federal election will have to vote again in the 2024 Berlin election.
However, voter turnout is expected to be lower than it was two years ago, notes Berlin political scientist Thorsten Faas.
Voter turnout could drop from the previous 75 percent to 40 percent.
Anyone who has been resident in the affected electoral district for at least 42 days before the election can cast their vote in the by-election.
Anyone who has moved away loses their right to vote.
People who no longer live in Germany but had their last place of residence in an affected electoral district can “apply for entry in the voters’ register,” the Federal Elections Authority said.
No new candidates in the re-election in Berlin
The selection, however, has not changed compared to the 2021 election.
As the state election authority announces on its website, “election proposals can only be changed if an applicant has died or is no longer eligible for election.
New election proposals will not be accepted.”
Anyone who rejected their mandate in 2021 will also appear on the ballot papers again.
If they accept the election this time, their list successors could lose their seats in the Bundestag.
But only “when the Council of Elders of the German Bundestag decides that the person following the list will lose their membership”.
You can find out everything you need to know about the Berlin election in the question and answer overview here.
Does the repeat election of the federal election have an impact on the traffic light government?
It is unlikely that the by-election will change anything in the current traffic light coalition government.
However, some mandates could be distributed differently - even beyond the borders of Berlin.
In Berlin, the mandates of Monika Grütters (CDU) from the Reinickendorf constituency and the Green MP Stefan Gelbhaar in the Pankow constituency are particularly at risk, reports the
Tagesschau
.
Who can vote? |
People over 18 who have moved to a relevant electoral district at least 42 days before the election. |
When will the election take place? |
Sunday, February 11, 2024 |
Who is up for election? |
The candidates from the 2021 election are running again. No further candidates are allowed to join. Only deceased people are excluded from the election. |
How many electoral districts need to have new elections? |
455 electoral districts in Berlin. |
In which constituencies will new elections be held? |
The election will be repeated in all 12 Berlin constituencies. |
“During the repeat election, not only the first but also the second votes will be cast again in the affected Berlin electoral districts and the election result will be redetermined nationwide, taking into account the result of the Berlin repeat election,” writes the election management.
This means that the election on Sunday could also lead to mandate shifts in other federal states.
(With agency material)