There were incorrect or missing ballot papers, at times polling stations were closed: the course of the federal election last year was certainly not a day of glory for Berlin. The Federal Returning Officer wants the vote to be repeated there in part. But others have to decide that.
Due to numerous breakdowns and irregularities in the voting, Federal Returning Officer Georg Thiel considers a partial repeat of the Bundestag elections in Berlin to be unavoidable. In November, he had already lodged an objection to the way the election was evaluated in six of Berlin's twelve constituencies.
On election day last September, it wasn't just individual errors that happened as outliers, Thiel said at a hearing in the Bundestag's Election Review Committee. Rather, it seems to be a "complete systematic failure of the electoral organization". In the end, however, the Bundestag decides on a possible re-election.
The elections to the Bundestag and the Berlin House of Representatives on September 26 were marked by numerous mishaps and organizational problems. These included wrong or missing ballot papers, the temporary closure of polling stations and long queues in front of them. In addition, some polling stations were open well past 6 p.m.
Against this background, the Federal Returning Officer had already lodged an objection against the evaluation of the election in six Berlin constituencies in November. It cannot be ruled out that the events will have an impact on the distribution of seats in the new Bundestag. The Election Review Committee has been investigating for some time whether this is actually the case and whether the election must be repeated at least in certain constituencies or districts.
