The 2023 Berlin repeat state election was held on 12 February 2023 to once again elect the 19th Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin as the 2021 Berlin state election held on 26 September 2021 was declared invalid due to irregularities. Also affected were parts of the 2021 German federal election in Berlin. Those were repeated on 11 February 2024.

On 16 November 2022, the Constitutional Court of the State of Berlin declared the state election results invalid due to numerous irregularities and ordered a repeat election within 90 days. A decision by the Federal Constitutional Court regarding five constitutional complaints is still pending but would not be decided until after the repeat election.Pressemitteilung Nr. 13/2023 des Bundesverfassungsgerichts zum Beschluss mit dem Az. 2 BvR 2189/22 The improperly elected incumbent government was a coalition of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), The Greens, and The Left led by Governing Mayor Franziska Giffey. Alongside the Abgeordnetenhaus election, the boroughs of Berlin council results were also ruled invalid and repeat elections ordered for the same date.

With 28% of votes, the opposition Christian Democratic Union (CDU) grew by over ten percentage points and emerged as the largest party by a wide margin, the first time it had done so since the 1999 Berlin state election. All three governing parties declined; the SPD suffered its worst result in over a century with 18.4%, and only barely remained ahead of the Greens by a margin of 53 votes. The Left also slipped to 12%. The Alternative for Germany (AfD) recorded a small upswing to 9%, while the Free Democratic Party (FDP) fell to 4.6% and lost all their seats. Overall, the incumbent government retained a reduced majority. The CDU claimed a mandate to govern given its first-place result, while mayor Giffey committed to remaining in government. The Left called for a renewal of the outgoing coalition. After various talks between parties, the SPD and CDU voted at the beginning of March to begin negotiations for a grand coalition. CDU leader Kai Wegner was approved as mayor on 27 April after three rounds of voting.

Election date The original election to the 19th Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin took place on 26 September 2021, but the results were ruled invalid by the Berlin Constitutional Court on 16 November 2022. A repeat election was ordered to take place within 90 days – 14 February 2023 at the latest. Constitutionally, the state parliament has a term of five years. The Court's decision did not reset the legislative term, meaning the next regular elections must still take place no later than Autumn 2026. State electoral officer Stephan Bröchler confirmed that the election would take place on Sunday 12 February, the latest possible date.

In accordance with the Constitutional Court's ruling, the sitting members of the Abgeordnetenhaus remained in office until the repeat election. They could have circumvented the court ruling by dissolving the state parliament and thus bringing about a snap election for a regular 20th legislative period, which is possible under the Berlin state constitution with a two-thirds majority of all members of parliament. However, this move was not seriously considered.

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. 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%.

Background

In the original election held on 26 September 2021, the SPD remained the largest party with 21.4% of the vote. The Greens grew to become the second-largest party with 18.9%, followed by the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) on 18.0%. The Left saw a small decline to 14.1%. The Alternative for Germany (AfD) lost almost half their voteshare and fell to 8.0%, while the Free Democratic Party (FDP) saw a small improvement to 7.1%. The SPD had led a coalition with the Left and Greens since 2016, which was returned with an increased majority. The government was subsequently renewed under new mayor Franziska Giffey.

Numerous irregularities were reported during the 2021 elections, 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. After months of investigation and hearings, in September 2022, the Constitutional Court of the State of Berlin issued a preliminary assessment declaring that a full repeat of both the state and district council elections was likely necessary. This was confirmed by their official ruling in November. The results of the election were thus voided and new elections ordered for within 90 days.

Parties The table below lists parties previously represented in the 19th Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin. Name Ideology 2021 result Votes (%) Seats SPD Social Democratic Party of Germany Social democracy 21.4% Grüne Alliance 90/The Greens Green politics 18.9% CDU Christian Democratic Union of Germany Christian democracy 18.0% Linke The Left Democratic socialism 14.1% AfD Alternative for Germany Right-wing populism 8.0% FDP Free Democratic Party Liberalism 7.1%

Opinion polls Graphical summary

Party polling Polling firmFieldwork dateSample sizeSPDGrüneCDULinkeAfDFDPOthersLead 2023 state election12 Feb 2023–18.418.428.212.29.14.69.09.8Wahlkreisprognose8–10 Feb 20231,00019.518.5251395105.5Forschungsgruppe Wahlen8–9 Feb 20231,05921172511106104INSA2–9 Feb 20231,00019182512106106Civey2–9 Feb 20232,0022217241197102Forsa30 Jan–3 Feb 20231,00517182612105128Forschungsgruppe Wahlen31 Jan–2 Feb 20231,15121182411106103Wahlkreisprognose31 Jan–2 Feb 20231,03419192212.511.55.510.53Infratest dimap30 Jan–1 Feb 20231,54019182512106106Infratest dimap12–16 Jan 20231,16218212311116102Wahlkreisprognose6–9 Jan 20231,10019.52022.512.511410.52.5INSA12–19 Dec 20221,0002120211210610 TieWahlkreisprognose11–13 Dec 20221,4562020.52012.5115110.5Infratest dimap17–21 Nov 20221,17919222111105121Wahlkreisprognose16–17 Nov 20221,20018.518.518.514.5126.511.5 TieINSA7–11 Nov 20221,00020202112107101Wahlkreisprognose27–29 Oct 20221,3111919.51914.5125110.5Wahlkreisprognose10–13 Oct 20221,10018192114135102Infratest dimap13–17 Sep 20221,17317222112106121Wahlkreisprognose8–12 Aug 20221,10020.526.51910.5959.56INSA4–11 Jul 20221,0002021201287121INSA10–15 Jun 20221,000212021128810 TieWahlkreisprognose18-25 May 20221,1001729.52110.56.55.5108.5Infratest dimap16–19 Mar 20221,1702021201288111INSA6–13 Dec 20211,0002219201597822021 state election26 Sep 2021–21.418.918.014.18.07.112.52.5

West Berlin Polling firmFieldwork dateSample sizeSPDGrüneCDULinkeAfDFDPOthersLead 2023 state election12 Feb 2023–19.919.831.19.06.85.38.111.2 Infratest dimap30 Jan–2 Feb 2023 – 21 19 29 8 8 5 10 8 Infratest dimap – 20 22 27 8 9 5 9 5Infratest dimap17–21 Nov 2022–202325885112Wahlkreisprognose10–13 Oct 2022–1920.52410.510.55.5103.5Infratest dimap13–17 Sep 2022–17242488712 TieInfratest dimap16–19 Mar 2022–2123247681112021 state election26 Sep 2021–22.920.320.810.16.37.911.72.1

East Berlin Polling firmFieldwork dateSample sizeSPDLinkeGrüneCDUAfDFDPOthersLead 2023 state election12 Feb 2023–16.416.616.424.312.23.710.47.7Infratest dimap31 Jan–2 Feb 2023–171416 2014693 Infratest dimap – 17 14 18 18 15 6 12 TieInfratest dimap17–21 Nov 2022–18152014145142Wahlkreisprognose10–13 Oct 2022–1619.517.516.51749.52Infratest dimap13–17 Sep 2022–17162017125133Infratest dimap16–19 Mar 2022– 20181814117122 2021 state election 26 Sep 2021–19.4 19.4 17.0 14.3 10.3 6.1 11.7 Tie

Results

SPD CDU/CSU Linke Grüne FDP AfD Others West Berlin 19.9 31.1 9.0 19.8 5.3 6.8 7.7 East Berlin 16.424.3 16.6 16.4 3.7 12.2 10.3

By constituency