German court orders re-run of 2021 election in parts of Berlin over irregularities

Germany’s federal constitutional court has ruled that the 2021 federal election should be repeated in some parts of Berlin, the German capital.

In the judgment delivered on Tuesday, the court ordered fresh elections to hold in 455 of Berlin’s 2,256 electoral districts, citing irregularities.

The polls, which were held on September 26, 2021, were for the state, the city’s 12 district assemblies, the German national election, and a local referendum.

However, the elections were marred by a few stumbling blocks, including a shortage of ballots, which led to long queues and pauses at polling stations, some of which had to stay open late to allow voting.

Deutsche Welle (DW), state-owned media, also reports that a loophole allowed ineligible minors to vote in the elections while German nationals living outside the country were allowed to vote.

The multiple elections which were held on the same day as a city marathon, compounded the chaos due to road closures.

COVID-19 restrictions were also still in place at the time.

Dissatisfied with the results, Christian Democrats, Germany’s opposition conservative, challenged the outcome in court, saying at least half of Berlin’s voters needed a chance to vote again in the federal election.

Although, the city re-ran its elections in February, German politicians have been pushing that the federal elections follow the same pattern.