2021 Berlin state election

2021 Berlin state election

← 2016 26 September 2021
elected members →
All 147 seats in the Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin, including 17 overhang and leveling seats 74 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	1,844,278 (75.4%) 8.5 pp
First party Second party Third party   Candidate Franziska Giffey Bettina Jarasch Kai Wegner Party SPD Green CDU Last election 38 seats, 21.6% 27 seats, 15.2% 31 seats, 17.6% Seats won 36 32 30 Seat change 2 5 1 Popular vote 390,329 343,871 328,587 Percentage 21.4% 18.9% 18.0% Swing 0.1 pp 3.7 pp 0.4 pp   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Candidate Klaus Lederer Kristin Brinker Sebastian Czaja Party Left AfD FDP Last election 27 seats, 15.6% 25 seats, 14.2% 12 seats, 6.7% Seats won 24 13 12 Seat change 3 12 0 Popular vote 256,063 145,712 130,201 Percentage 14.1% 8.0% 7.1% Swing 1.6 pp 6.2 pp 0.5 pp
Results of the election.
Mayor and Government before election Michael Müller (SPD) SPD–Left–Green Elected Mayor and Government Franziska Giffey (SPD) SPD–Green–Left

The 2021 Berlin state election was held on 26 September 2021 to elect the 19th Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin.^[1][2] The incumbent government was a coalition of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), The Left, and The Greens led by Governing Mayor Michael Müller. Müller did not run for re-election as Mayor, and former federal minister Franziska Giffey led the SPD in the election.^[3] The Berlin exproporiation referendum was held on the same day.

The SPD remained the largest party with 21.4% of votes cast, recording minimal change compared to 2016. The Greens narrowly surpassed the opposition Christian Democratic Union (CDU) to become the second largest party with 19% of the vote. The Left recorded a small decline to 14%, while the Alternative for Germany (AfD) lost almost half its vote share and finished on 8%. The Free Democratic Party (FDP) remained the smallest party in the Abgeordnetenhaus with 7%.^[4]

Post-election, SPD's Giffey and Bettina Jarasch of the Greens both spoke out in favour of a coalition involving their parties.^[4] They ultimately renewed the outgoing government with The Left. Franziska Giffey was elected as Governing Mayor on 21 December and her cabinet was sworn in the same day.^[5]

Election date[]

The last election took place on 18 September 2016. The Abgeordnetenhaus has a term of five years, so the next regular elections must take place no later than September 2021.^[2] Federal Minister of the Interior Horst Seehofer has recommended that the election take place on the same date as the 2021 German federal election, which took place on 26 September 2021.^[1]

Electoral system[]

The Abgeordnetenhaus is elected via mixed-member proportional representation. 78 members are elected in single-member constituencies via first-past-the-post voting. 52 members are then allocated using compensatory proportional representation, distributed in each of Berlin's twelve boroughs. German voters have two votes: the "first vote" for candidates in single-member constituencies, and the "second vote" for party lists, which are used to fill the proportional seats. The minimum size of the Abgeordnetenhaus is 130 members, but if overhang seats are present, proportional leveling seats will be added to ensure proportionality. An electoral threshold of 5% of valid votes is applied to the Abgeordnetenhaus; parties that fall below this threshold are excluded from the Abgeordnetenhaus. However, parties which win at least one single-member constituency are exempt from the threshold and will be allocated seats proportionally, even if they fall below 5%.^[2]

Background[]

In the previous election held on 13 March 2016, the SPD remained the largest party with 21.6% of the vote, a loss of 6.7 percentage points. The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) was the second largest party with 17.6%, a loss of 5.7 points. The Left overtook The Greens to become the third largest party on 15.6%, while The Greens won 15.2%. Alternative for Germany (AfD) contested their first election in Berlin, winning 14.2%. The Free Democratic Party (FDP) re-entered the Abgeordnetenhaus with 6.7%.

The SPD had led a coalition with the CDU since 2011, but this government lost its majority in the election. The SPD subsequently formed a coalition with The Left and The Greens.

Parties[]

The table below lists parties currently represented in the 18th Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin.

Name			Ideology	Lead candidate	Leader(s)	2016 result
						Votes (%)	Seats
	SPD	Social Democratic Party of Germany Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands	Social democracy	Franziska Giffey	Franziska Giffey Raed Saleh	21.6%	38 / 160
	CDU	Christian Democratic Union of Germany Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands	Christian democracy	Kai Wegner	Kai Wegner	17.6%	31 / 160
	Linke	The Left Die Linke	Democratic socialism	Klaus Lederer	Katina Schubert	15.6%	27 / 160
	Grüne	Alliance 90/The Greens Bündnis 90/Die Grünen	Green politics	Bettina Jarasch	Nina Stahr Werner Graf	15.2%	27 / 160
	AfD	Alternative for Germany Alternative für Deutschland	Right-wing populism	Kristin Brinker	Kristin Brinker	14.2%	25 / 160
	FDP	Free Democratic Party Freie Demokratische Partei	Classical liberalism	Sebastian Czaja	Christoph Meyer	6.7%	12 / 160

Campaign[]

Lead candidates[]

On 5 October 2020, the Greens nominated Bettina Jarasch, spokeswoman for integration and refugees, as their lead candidate for the election. She previously served as chairwoman of the state party from 2011 to 2016.^[6] She was formally elected as lead candidate on 12 December.^[7]

On 9 October, state CDU leader Kai Wegner was selected as his party's lead candidate.^[8]

Prior to the election, incumbent mayor Michael Müller voiced his desire to move into federal politics rather than seek another term. On 30 November 2020, the state party executive nominated Federal Minister for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth Franziska Giffey as lead candidate for the election. She was simultaneously elected co-leader of the Berlin branch of the party alongside parliamentary group leader Raed Saleh.^[8][3]

On 8 December, The Left nominated incumbent Deputy Mayor and Senator for Culture Klaus Lederer as its lead candidate for the election. Lederer is noted as one of the most popular politicians in Berlin, achieving consistently high approval ratings.^[9]

On 27 March 2021, the FDP elected parliamentary group leader Sebastian Czaja as their lead candidate for the election.^[10]

Opinion polling[]

Graphical summary[]

Party polling[]

Polling firm	Fieldwork date	Sample size	SPD	CDU	Linke	Grüne	AfD	FDP	Others	Lead
2021 state election	26 Sep 2021	–	21.4	18.0	14.1	18.9	8.0	7.1	12.5	2.5
INSA	22–24 Sep 2021	1,000	23	15	14	17	11	8	12[a]	6
Wahlkreisprognose	22–23 Sep 2021	1,040	25	15.5	14.5	15.5	10.5	7.5	12	9.5
Forschungsgruppe Wahlen	20–22 Sep 2021	1,103	22	17	13	19	9	7	13	3
Forschungsgruppe Wahlen	13–16 Sep 2021	1,000	21	17	12	20	9	8	13	1
Infratest dimap	13–15 Sep 2021	1,510	24	16	13	18	10	7	12[b]	6
Wahlkreisprognose	9–14 Sep 2021	1,553	25	14.5	14.5	14.5	10.5	8.5	12.5	10.5
Wahlkreisprognose	23–24 Aug 2021	1,050	24.5	15	15	15.5	11	9.5	9.5	9
Infratest dimap	18–21 Aug 2021	1,160	23	19	12	17	11	8	10	4
INSA	16–23 Aug 2021	1,000	22	16	15	18	12	9	8[c]	4
Forsa	5–10 Aug 2021	2,007	21	17	14	21	10	7	10	Tie
Wahlkreisprognose	24–31 Jul 2021	2,420	24	18	15	15.5	9	9	9.5	6
Wahlkreisprognose	29 Jun–6 Jul 2021	2,950	21	20	14	16	9.5	10.5	9.5	1
INSA	16–22 Jun 2021	1,000	18	18	13	22	12	10	7[d]	3
Infratest dimap	9–14 Jun 2021	1,198	17	21	12	22	10	9	9	1
Wahlkreisprognose	3–10 Jun 2021	1,553	20.5	18	13	16	8.5	12.5	11.5[e]	2.5
INSA	11–17 May 2021	1,000	20	16	13	25	12	9	5[f]	5
Infratest dimap	20–24 Apr 2021	?	17	18	14	27	9	7	8	9
INSA	12–20 Apr 2021	1,024	19	16	14	25	12	10	4	6
Infratest dimap	16–20 Feb 2021	1,007	18	22	15	23	9	6	7	1
INSA	11–18 Dec 2020	1,002	18	22	16	18	12	7	7	4
INSA	28 Sep–5 Oct 2020	1,007	18	21	16	20	12	6	7	1
Infratest dimap	15–19 Sep 2020	1,001	15	22	15	26	10	6	6	4
INSA	7–13 Jul 2020	1,012	16	21	18	19	12	5	9	2
Infratest dimap	22–25 Apr 2020	1,002	20	23	14	21	10	5	7	2
Forsa	29 Jan–6 Feb 2020	1,011	15	16	17	25	11	6	10	8
INSA	10–18 Dec 2019	1,006	15	18	19	23	13	7	5	4
Forsa	12–19 Dec 2019	1,005	15	17	19	22	11	6	10	3
Forsa	21–28 Nov 2019	1,006	16	17	17	25	11	5	10	8
Infratest dimap	11–16 Nov 2019	1,003	16	18	17	23	14	5	7	5
Forsa	22–31 Oct 2019	1,002	15	18	16	25	11	5	10	7
Forsa	17–26 Sep 2019	1,002	16	17	16	24	11	6	10	7
INSA	10–16 Sep 2019	1,018	15	17	18	24	14	6	6	6
Forsa	20–29 Aug 2019	1,003	16	16	17	24	11	6	10	7
Forsa	17–25 Jul 2019	1,001	16	17	18	25	10	5	9	7
Forsa	17–27 Jun 2019	1,004	15	17	17	25	10	7	9	8
Forsa	20–27 May 2019	1,006	16	15	17	26	11	7	8	9
Infratest dimap	30 Apr–3 May 2019	1,000	15	17	19	23	10	6	10	4
Forsa	16–25 Apr 2019	1,005	16	17	18	25	11	7	6	7
INSA	5��8 Apr 2019	1,030	16	19	19	19	12	9	6	Tie
INSA	19–28 Mar 2019	1,003	15	18	18	25	10	8	6	7
Forsa	20–28 Feb 2019	1,001	17	20	18	22	11	7	5	2
Forsa	22–31 Jan 2019	1,002	16	19	20	21	11	8	5	1
Forsa	11–19 Dec 2018	1,009	15	17	18	23	13	7	7	5
INSA	10–17 Dec 2018	1,007	16	18	16	21	14	8	7	3
Forsa	19–29 Nov 2018	1,003	15	18	18	23	13	7	6	5
Infratest dimap	14–17 Nov 2018	1,002	15	18	18	24	13	6	6	6
INSA	23 Oct–2 Nov 2018	1,019	16	16	17	22	15	7	7	5
Forsa	October 2018	1,005	15	16	19	22	13	8	7	3
Forsa	19–27 Sep 2018	1,005	16	17	22	18	13	7	7	4
Forsa	21–30 Aug 2018	1,004	17	19	21	18	12	6	7	2
Forsa	16–26 Jul 2018	1,009	17	19	21	17	13	7	6	2
INSA	9–16 Jul 2018	1,012	17	18	17	18	14	7	9	Tie
Forsa	20–28 Jun 2018	1,009	19	18	21	16	11	8	7	2
Forsa	22–31 May 2018	1,004	18	19	20	18	11	7	7	1
Infratest dimap	9–12 May 2018	1,000	18	21	22	15	11	6	7	1
Forsa	17–26 Apr 2018	1,001	19	19	19	18	11	7	7	Tie
INSA	3–9 Apr 2018	1,039	19	19	19	17	13	8	5	Tie
Forsa	19–28 Mar 2018	1,003	20	20	18	17	12	7	6	Tie
Forsa	12–22 Feb 2018	1,006	19	19	20	18	12	6	6	1
Forsa	15–25 Jan 2018	1,008	20	19	18	17	11	7	8	1
Forsa	12–21 Dec 2017	1,002	20	20	18	17	11	6	8	Tie
Forsa	13–23 Nov 2017	1,002	18	21	18	16	11	8	8	3
Forsa	17–26 Oct 2017	1,011	19	20	18	14	11	9	9	1
Forsa	26 Sep–5 Oct 2017	1,002	18	19	19	15	11	9	9	Tie
Infratest dimap	6–9 Sep 2017	1,000	21	23	19	14	10	7	6	2
Forsa	22–30 Aug 2017	1,005	19	21	17	14	9	11	9	2
Forsa	18–27 Jul 2017	1,007	20	22	18	14	8	9	9	2
Forsa	22–29 Jun 2017	1,003	21	22	17	14	8	9	9	1
Forsa	16–24 May 2017	1,001	22	23	16	13	8	8	10	1
Infratest dimap	17–20 May 2017	1,000	22	24	17	13	10	8	6	2
Forsa	19–27 Apr 2017	1,002	24	20	16	12	9	8	11	4
Forsa	20–30 Mar 2017	1,005	25	20	16	13	8	7	11	5
Forsa	13–23 Mar 2017	1,004	25	17	16	13	10	8	11	8
Forsa	16–26 Jan 2017	1,008	20	20	16	15	12	8	9	Tie
Forsa	12–23 Dec 2016	1,003	20	20	17	16	12	7	8	Tie
Forsa	14–24 Nov 2017	1,001	19	20	16	17	13	7	8	1
Infratest dimap	21–23 Nov 2016	1,003	21	19	17	15	13	7	8	2
Forsa	19–27 Oct 2016	1,002	20	18	16	16	13	7	10	2
2016 state election	18 Sep 2016	–	21.6	17.6	15.6	15.2	14.2	6.7	7.4	4.0

Results[]

Party		Constituency				Party list				Total seats	+/–
		Votes	%	+/–	Seats	Votes	%	+/–	Seats
	Social Democratic Party (SPD)	422,754	23.36	–1.43	25	390,329	21.43	–0.13	11	36	–2
	Alliance 90/The Greens (GRÜNE)	361,636	19.99	+4.23	24	343,871	18.88	+3.69	8	32	+5
	Christian Democratic Union (CDU)	355,696	19.66	–0.17	21	328,587	18.04	+0.43	9	30	–1
	The Left (LINKE)	252,470	13.95	–1.48	6	256,063	14.06	–1.58	18	24	–3
	Alternative for Germany (AfD)	146,091	8.07	–6.05	2	145,712	8.00	–6.16	11	13	–12
	Free Democratic Party (FDP)	119,226	6.59	+1.03	0	130,201	7.15	+0.45	12	12	±0
	Human Environment Animal Protection	60,990	3.37	+3.37	0	40,128	2.20	+0.33	0	0	±0
	Die PARTEI	36,305	2.01	+0.79	0	32,800	1.80	–0.15	0	0	±0
	Grassroots Democratic Party	29,770	1.65	New	0	23,055	1.27	New	0	0	New
	Volt Germany	0	0.00	New	0	20,205	1.11	New	0	0	New
	Team Todenhöfer	0	0.00	New	0	18,853	1.03	New	0	0	New
	Free Voters	16,897	0.93	New	0	15,297	0.84	New	0	0	New
	The Greys	0	0.00	New	0	12,654	0.69	New	0	0	New
	Grey Panthers	0	0.00	–	0	8,910	0.49	–0.62	0	0	±0
	Animal Protection Here!	0	0.00	New	0	8,059	0.44	New	0	0	New
	Climate List Berlin	0	0.00	New	0	7,899	0.43	New	0	0	New
	Pirate Party Germany	1,671	0.09	–1.89	0	7,440	0.41	–1.32	0	0	±0
	Party for Health Research	0	0.00	–	0	4,887	0.27	–0.21	0	0	±0
	Renters' Party	1,079	0.06	+0.00	0	4,261	0.23	+0.23	0	0	±0
	The Humanists	0	0.00	New	0	3,880	0.21	New	0	0	New
	The Urbans. A HipHop Party	698	0.04	New	0	3,587	0.20	New	0	0	New
	Ecological Democratic Party	1,072	0.06	+0.05	0	2,445	0.13	+0.12	0	0	±0
	Bildet Berlin!	0	0.00	New	0	2,486	0.14	New	0	0	New
	National Democratic Party	852	0.05	–0.27	0	2,349	0.13	–0.45	0	0	±0
	German Communist Party	0	0.00	–0.01	0	2,359	0.13	–0.08	0	0	±0
	Bergpartei, die "ÜberPartei"	0	0.00	–0.05	0	1,713	0.09	+0.06	0	0	±0
	Liberal Conservative Reformers	979	0.05	+0.04	0	1,263	0.07	–0.34	0	0	±0
	The Pinks/Alliance 21	74	0.00	New	0	970	0.05	New	0	0	New
	Civil Rights Movement Solidarity	0	0.00	–0.00	0	575	0.03	–0.05	0	0	±0
	Socialist Equality Party	0	0.00	New	0	492	0.03	New	0	0	New
	Human World	0	0.00	–0.02	0	174	0.01	–0.04	0	0	±0
	The New Democrats	0	0.00	New	0	95	0.01	New	0	0	New
	The Republicans	18	0.00	New	0	55	0.00	New	0	0	New
	German Conservative	0	0.00	New	0	9	0.00	New	0	0	New
	The Women	120	0.01	New	0	0	0.00	New	0	0	New
	Liberal Democrats	28	0.00	New	0	0	0.00	New	0	0	New
	Democratic Left	21	0.00	–0.00	0	0	0.00	–	0	0	±0
	Independents	1,039	0.06	–0.21	0	0	0.00	–	0	0	±0
Total		1,809,486	100.00	–	78	1,821,663	100.00	–	69	147	–
Total votes		1,844,278	–	–		1,844,278	–	–
Registered voters/turnout		2,447,600	75.35	+8.46		2,447,600	75.35	+8.46
Source: State Returning Officer

Popular vote SPD   21.43% GRÜNE   18.88% CDU   18.04% LINKE   14.06% AfD   8.00% FDP   7.15% Other   12.46%

Abgeordnetenhaus seats SPD   24.49% GRÜNE   21.77% CDU   20.41% LINKE   16.33% AfD   8.84% FDP   8.16%

Aftermath[]

Irregularities[]

Numerous irregularities were reported during the elections in Berlin, including shortages of ballot papers, unusually long queues to vote, ballots being delivered to the wrong locations, and in some cases voters being turned away or offered only ballot papers for the federal election. Problems were exacerbated by a marathon taking place in the city on the same day. Irregularities were especially common in the Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf and Friedrichshain districts. State electoral officer Petra Michaelis resigned three days after the election, taking responsibility for the failures in the election process. The state interior minister announced an inquiry into the events and stated that investigations would take place concerning incidents at approximately 100 of Berlin's 2,245 polling stations. This was later revised to 207 of 2,257 polling stations. Reviews and corrections are considered unlikely to change the overall results of the state or federal elections, but may affect the outcome of results in the Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf 6 and Marzahn-Hellersdorf 1 constituencies for the state election.^[11][12][13] Preliminary results showed the SPD candidate ahead by 8 votes in Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf 6; a recount saw the seat flip to the Greens by a margin of 23 votes. The new result was later certified by the electoral office.^[14]

On 22 November, the state electoral committee and interior ministry requested that the Berlin Constitutional Court rule on the validity of the election results in the Pankow 3, Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf 6, and Marzahn-Hellersdorf 1 constituencies. The court may determine that a repeat of the elections is necessary in the affected constituencies; it is expected to take several months to deliver its verdict. The interior ministry clarified that, although irregularities were recorded in many constituencies, they were only significant enough to change the result in the three specified. Nonetheless, the state government plans to establish an expert committee to investigate the irregularities.^[15]

Government formation[]

The results showed that the next government would have to consist of three parties, in order to get a majority, all parties ruled out the possibility of working with the AfD. Before the results, the SPD's candidate Franziska Giffey had stated that she was looking to form a coalition involving the CDU and the FDP. Post-election, both the SPD's Giffey and Bettina Jarasch of the Greens spoke out in favour of a coalition involving their parties but differed on a third partner, as Giffey favoured a traffic light coalition with the FDP, while the Greens voiced their desire to renew the incumbent red–red–green coalition with The Left. Giffey faced resistance within her party for her stance. The SPD and Greens agreed to seek preliminary discussions with both the FDP and Left.^[16][17] On 14 October, Giffey announced that the SPD would enter coalition negotiations with the Greens and The Left.^[18]

The three parties finalised a coalition agreement on 28 November.^[19] It was approved by 91.5% of delegates at an SPD congress on 5 December.^[20] On, 12 December, it was passed by the Greens congress 96.4% approval.^[21] The Left carried out a membership ballot on the coalition pact. Most party representatives endorsed the agreement, though some, such as Katalin Gennburg, campaigned against it. The results were announced on 17 December, with 74.9% of members voting in favour of the agreement.^[22]

Giffey was elected as Governing Mayor by the Abgeordnetenhaus on 21 December, winning 84 votes out of 139 votes. The Giffey senate, comprising four SPD, three Green, three Left, and one independent senator, was sworn in the same day.^[5]

Notes[]

References[]

External links[]

• Official website