From BZ/dpa
After a long stalemate, Berlin’s politicians now finally have clarity: there will be another election in February. Franziska Giffey wants to explain what should or must happen by then in Parliament today.
After the verdict of the State Constitutional Court on the complete repetition of the election of the House of Representatives, Berlin’s Governing Mayor Franziska Giffey issues a government statement. On Thursday (from 10 a.m.) the SPD politician wants to explain in parliament what consequences the Senate is drawing from the verdict and how the repeat election should be organized better.
The opposition had already demanded a government statement at the end of September after the hearing of the constitutional court. Giffey rejected it at the time, but said he would take a stand once the verdict was passed.
With the decision for a complete re-election due to numerous errors on September 26, 2021, the red-green-red Senate faces several challenges. On the one hand, the three partners must continue to govern together sensibly, which is more important than ever in times of an energy crisis and high inflation.
Queuing in front of the adult education center in Pankow. On election day, voters had to wait up to three hours. Some of the polling stations opened up to two hours longer than 6 p.m Photo: ODD ANDERSEN/AFP
On the other hand, all parties have to organize an election campaign again and differentiate themselves from each other. There is little time to prepare for this – because the repeat election is scheduled to take place on February 12th.
On Wednesday, the Berlin Constitutional Court ruled that the election to the House of Representatives, which was characterized by numerous mishaps, must be repeated in its entirety. The vote about 14 months ago was invalid due to “serious systemic deficiencies”.
From the point of view of the court, there were a “numerous serious electoral errors” – both during the preparation and on the day of the election itself. These were relevant to the mandate, so they had an impact on the composition of Parliament. The principle of universality, equality and freedom had been violated.
Court President Ludgera Selting cited wrong, missing or hastily copied ballot papers, too few ballot boxes, the temporary closure of polling stations and long queues in front of them, with waiting times of sometimes several hours, as examples of electoral errors. In around half of the 2,256 polling stations, voters still voted after 6 p.m.
CDU: Peak failure of red-green-red
According to the court, the current parliament can continue to work until the new parliament is constituted. Since this is a repeat election and not a new one, the legislative period ends in 2026. The parties must run with the same candidates as in 2021.
Giffey promised on Wednesday that the Senate would do everything possible to prepare for a smooth vote. Mistakes happened that shouldn’t happen again.
Berlin’s CDU state chief Kai Wegner described the upcoming re-election as an opportunity for a new start. The court’s verdict marks the pinnacle of Red-Green-Red’s failure.