Since the repetition of the Bundestag elections in Berlin is not quite as bagged as the renewed ballot for the election of the House of Representatives and deadlines are different, many Berliners will probably have to cast their votes on two days. The dates will probably not be clear until 2023.
After the breakdowns in the elections in September last year, Berliners have to go to the polls twice to repeat the vote. “The election dates at state and federal level cannot be combined, since the repetition of the federal election is subject to different deadlines,” said Federal Returning Officer Georg Thiel. According to the decision of the state constitutional court, the new election of the Berlin House of Representatives must be repeated within a period of 90 days throughout Berlin. The state election authority already named February 12 as the date.
An appeal can be lodged with the Federal Constitutional Court against the Bundestag’s decision to repeat the Bundestag elections in 431 of around 2,300 constituencies. This can significantly delay the repetition here. “The decision of the Constitutional Court means that some Berliners will probably be called to the polls on two days – namely those who are also affected by the repeat of the federal elections,” explained Thiel.
The Federal Returning Officer pointed out that a period of two months applies to objections to the Federal Constitutional Court. If no election scrutiny complaint is raised there, the decision of the Bundestag will become final in January 2023. The repeat of the Bundestag election must then take place after 60 days at the latest, so in the case of Berlin March 5th would be the last possible date. Thiel emphasized that it was up to the Berlin state returning officer to determine the specific election day.
In the event that one or more election scrutiny complaints are lodged with the Federal Constitutional Court, the election date will be correspondingly later. Then it would be open when and, if necessary, to what extent the federal elections in Berlin will be repeated. It is expected that the repetition of the federal election could last until 2024.
