The possibility of a re-count of the recent Bundestag election, triggered by the razor-thin margin by which the BSW (Basis Sorge SignalWort) party failed to secure seats, has sharply divided public opinion across Germany. A fresh poll conducted by Insa and reported by the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland reveals that 36% of respondents support a re-count, while 30% oppose it and 21% remain indifferent. Predictably, support for a re-count is highest among BSW supporters (77%) and also significant among those who identify with the AfD (60%).
The contentious debate intensifies scrutiny of the Bundestag’s electoral review committee, which has yet to convene to assess the formal objection filed by the BSW. Co-founder of the BSW, Alice Wagenknecht, has publicly lambasted the committee’s inaction, characterizing it as “a farce” that undermines the integrity of the parliamentary process and public trust in democracy. She insists that a re-count must be initiated “without further delay” highlighting that the issue transcends the BSW’s specific situation and strikes at the very foundation of Germany’s democratic institutions. She has demanded a session before the end of November to pave the way for a re-count.
However, constitutional law professor Sophie Schönberger at Berlin University argues against the necessity of a re-election. In an interview with the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland, Schönberger maintains that the current electoral system demonstrates no evidence of “systematic errors” and that the review process is intended to identify genuine irregularities, not to pursue speculative searches for uncounted votes. She notes, according to her understanding, the BSW’s objection lacks substantive basis.
While acknowledging that “minimal counting errors” are unavoidable in such large-scale electoral processes due to human fallibility, Schönberger dismisses the notion of a re-count as a remedy. Any revised tally would inevitably differ from the official result, but the direction of that divergence remains unpredictable. She emphasizes that re-counting votes based on mere suspicion is not within the established legal framework.
The potential consequences of a re-count and a subsequent shift in the Bundestag composition are also significant. Should the BSW successfully gain representation through a re-count, it would dismantle the current ruling coalition led by Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU), though Merz would retain his position initially, according to Schönberger. Crucially, a revised Bundestag’s composition would not invalidate the original election of the Chancellor. The legal framework regarding the integrity of the Chancellor’s election is robust, though the political ramifications of such a scenario remain a subject of intense speculation and potential instability.