BERLIN (AP) — Berlin will likely need to repeat its 2021 state- and district-level elections due to the severity of election-day glitches, the president of German capital’s constitutional court said Wednesday.
On Sept. 26, 2021, Berlin held simultaneous federal, state and district-level elections, as well as a city-wide referendum on expropriating the property of large real estate companies.
The election was riddled with errors and issues: Long lines formed outside many polling stations in Berlin on Sunday as voters struggled with extra ballot papers. Despite the election officially ending at 6 p.m. (1600GMT), voters who were already lined up by then were allowed to cast their ballots.
Some polling stations ran out of ballot papers during the day, while others received ones for the wrong district. This led to a large share of ballots being declared invalid in some polling stations.
Several political parties and government entities, including Berlin’s election authority, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, and the satirical political party The Party, filed formal complaints and called for an investigation into the results.
Ahead of oral arguments on the issue Wednesday, Berlin Constitutional Court President Ludgera Selting said those issues likely influenced the election results and the overall makeup of the Berlin state parliament.
A formal decision has yet to be announced. Should the court decide to deem the state- and district-level election results invalid, a new city-wide election would need to be held within 90 days.
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