Elections are to be held in Berlin as early as February: the reason is the breakdown election in September 2021. However, 43 people are now filing a complaint with the Federal Constitutional Court against this repetition. Does the appointment change?
The planned complete repetition of the election to the Berlin House of Representatives becomes a case for the Federal Constitutional Court. A constitutional complaint including an urgent application was received there on Friday, as a spokesman said on request. According to him, there are 43 plaintiffs who are appealing against the judgment of the Berlin Constitutional Court of November 16th.
The state constitutional judges had declared the election of September 26, 2021 to be invalid overall because of the many glitches. The state returning officer has set February 12, 2023 as the date for the new election, which also affects the twelve district parliaments. In contrast to the general election, going to Karlsruhe is not intended as a regular legal remedy. As against any other court decision, those affected can lodge a constitutional complaint. The deadline for this is one month – so Friday was the last opportunity.
According to the Berlin Constitutional Court, “any extraordinary legal remedies have no suspensive effect” from the day of the announcement. However, the spokesman for the Federal Constitutional Court was initially unable to say anything about the further course of events in Karlsruhe.
The equally troubled federal election in Berlin on the same day is only to be repeated in certain districts in which there have been proven problems. The Bundestag had decided on the recommendation of the Election Review Committee on November 10th. The fact that this decision will be reviewed by the Federal Constitutional Court is already clear after the first complaints about the election have been received. The deadline for this is January 10, and according to the spokesman, six complaints had been received by Friday. The Union and AfD factions had each announced their own election review complaint. They want a broader or more complete repetition of the election.
At the time, the elections were chaotic in many Berlin polling stations. There were long queues and waiting times, incorrect or missing ballot papers, which is why polling stations had to close temporarily. In many places they stayed open until well after 6 p.m. to enable those waiting to cast their votes.
