The 2021 Bundestag elections were held more than two years ago. The current iteration was decided by the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe. Under the decision, there were serious deficiencies on Election Day, September 26, 2021, such that a new vote must be held in some electoral districts. Presiding judge Doris Koenig said the election should be repeated in 455 electoral districts and corresponding postal voting areas.
Repeated elections must be held with two votes, i.e. voting in the first and second rounds.
The ruling is based on an election audit complaint filed by the CDU/CSU faction of the Bundestag. In November 2022, the Bundestag decided by votes of the SPD, Greens and FDP factions to partially rerun the elections – in 327 of the capital’s 2,256 voting areas and 104 of the 1,507 postal voting areas.
The CDU/CSU faction of the Bundestag said this was illegal, partly because the Bundestag had not declared the elections invalid in six electoral districts contested by the federal grouping.
One possible date for a runoff would be February 11, 2024. A runoff election must be held within 60 days. The last possible day will be February 11, according to Stefan Brüchler, Berlin state election official. This is the last Sunday before school starts again in Berlin after the winter break. But the date is not final yet, and must be announced in the Official Gazette.
Repeated Berlin elections are unlikely to completely change the balance of power in the Bundestag. However, it could have a significant impact on the Left Party. The party entered Parliament in the Bundestag elections only thanks to the basic mandate clause. Although he did not reach 5%, he won three states outright, two of them in Berlin through Jessen Loch and Gregor Gissi, writes SPIEGEL.
The repeated elections must be held under the same electoral law as the 2021 elections. The Federal Constitutional Court only recently decided that the 2020 electoral law reform on which it is based is constitutional. Since then the electoral law has been reformed again. However, these changes will not apply to recurring elections.
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