In the Erika-Heß-Saal you count twice at separate rows of tables Photo: Ralf Gunther
From Hildburg Bruns
Now counting! More than 11,451 SPD members have voted on the coalition agreement of the planned CDU/SPD-GroKo. A tight result is expected – it will be announced around 4 p.m.
Around 60 voluntary socialists are involved in counting at the SPD party headquarters in Wedding (Müllerstrasse). Also a number of GroKo opponents from the Jusos. Unlike normal elections, they do not receive refreshment money, but there are fruit, rolls and chocolate bars in the hallway. The rules are strict:
► Taking photos of ballot papers and tweeting is prohibited
► Leave mobile phones and bags at the entrance. A central telephone number has been set up for urgent cases.
► The tellers must remain in the rooms on the first floor until the result is announced in front of the press.
How is the count going?
In this room the affidavits are checked Photo: Ralf Gunther
The yellow plastic boxes with the letters were first collected at the post office, then taken to the SPD headquarters by security guards. There they run through a slot machine, after which the affidavits and thus the right to vote are checked. Then the red envelopes are opened in another room and counted twice.
The decisive factor is the majority of yes/no votes on the coalition agreement. The quorum with the minimum number of participants of 20 percent of the party members has been clearly reached. After the count, the ballots are locked.