Vote-by-mail documents for the Bundestag election from February 10

Despite the tight timeframe for the organisation of the Bundestag elections in Berlin, the capital's state election director, Stephan Bröchler, is confident that everything will work out.

"It's an effort, it won't be a walk in the park," he said on Deutschlandfunk radio. "But we'll get it done."

13 days for postal voting

This means that the postal voting documents with the complete ballot papers could only be sent out on February 10. These would then have to be returned or handed in by February 23, the day of the election. "There are 13 days and the postal ballot papers must be sent out within this period, including to Germans living abroad, and must be returned here." This is a challenge, especially with regard to voters living abroad. "The Federal Foreign Office will support us," emphasised Bröchler. However, it is currently unclear how many people living abroad will be able to vote, as they will only be able to apply for entry in the electoral register from the beginning of February.

Learning from past mistakes

In Bröchler's view, an even earlier date for the early federal election following the collapse of the "traffic light" coalition would not have been feasible. The CDU/CSU in particular had once called for an election date in January. "If it had been this January date, then we would have had a big problem," said Bröchler. "But thank goodness that has been averted." The state election director expressed confidence that Berlin had learnt from the chaotic course of the Bundestag and House of Representatives elections in 2021. The elections had to be repeated in large parts this year and last year after serious errors in the capital. "Unfortunately, only Berlin has this knowledge from the chaotic 2021 elections, and of course we want to turn it into something positive," said Bröchler.