Election glitches have done a lot of damage, says Giffey

Berlin's governing mayor Franziska Giffey (SPD) has promised that the re-election demanded by the state constitutional court will run smoothly. No effort will be spared - neither organizationally nor financially, Giffey said on Thursday in a government statement in the House of Representatives. This is what Berliners should expect from the Senate and districts.

After the results of the expert commission were presented in the summer, a task force was set up to better prepare for future elections. In addition, 39 million euros were set aside for the repeat election in the supplementary budget, said Giffey. Among other things, it is planned to equip each polling station with 140 percent of the required ballot papers. The state election management was increased by seven positions to a total of eleven. The conditions for election workers have also been improved.

Giffey called the decision of the Constitutional Court to repeat the election a drastic event for the city: "People can expect elections to go smoothly." The numerous election glitches on September 26, 2021 would have caused great damage. Mistakes happened and it hurts a lot. The responsibility lies on many shoulders, said Giffey. "Now everyone is asked to do better."

The Berlin Constitutional Court decided on Wednesday that the election to the House of Representatives, which was characterized by numerous mishaps, must be repeated in its entirety. The September 2021 vote is invalid due to "serious systemic deficiencies".

After the judgment of the state constitutional court on the repetition of the parliamentary elections in Berlin, the parties are registering their claims. The evening before, the Green Senator for Environment and Mobility, Bettina Jarasch, had submitted her claim to become the next governing mayor. "I would like to continue to govern with red-red, but I would like to lead the next government because I also believe that this city needs a change at the top," said Jarasch on Wednesday evening in the RBB "Special".

The CDU state chairman and top candidate Kai Wegner also emphasized that the CDU wanted to be the strongest party. The redial offers the chance for a new start.

Sebastian Czaja, chairman of the FDP parliamentary group in the House of Representatives and top candidate for the upcoming election, also sees the repetition as an opportunity for a new start: "Let's not let Berlin continue to govern from its problems. With a strong result in February 2023, we are aiming for government participation from the center.” For CDU state chief Wegner, the judgment of the Constitutional Court marks the peak of the failure of red-green-red. “Berlin, re-elect yourself!” he issued as a slogan on Twitter.