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. On 14 October, Giffey announced that the SPD would enter coalition negotiations with the Greens and The Left. The three parties finalised a coalition agreement on 28 November. It was approved by 91.5% of delegates at an SPD congress on 5 December. On, 12 December, it was passed by the Greens congress 96.4% approval. 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. 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. 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. On 22 November, the state electoral committee and interior ministry requested that the
Constitutional Court of the State of Berlin 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. After months of investigation and hearings, on 28 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. The court handed down its official ruling on 16 November, voiding the results and mandating a new election within 90 days.The president of the court stated that the frequency and gravity of irregularities were severe enough to affect the outcome of the results, and that serious systemic flaws were present during preparation for the election. In addition, the Election Audit Committee of the
Bundestag reviewed the findings of the Berlin Constitutional Court to determine whether a repeat of the federal election was required in Berlin. On 7 November, the committee recommended that the elections be repeated in 431 affected polling stations. This was put forward by the governing coalition of the SPD, Greens, and FDP, who formed the majority in the committee. The CDU/CSU and AfD factions opposed this, insisting that a full repeat in the six affected constituencies should take place. The committee's recommendation was approved by the Bundestag on 10 November. Due to a differing process and anticipated legal challenges which could bring the issue before the Federal Constitutional Court, any repeat of the federal election in Berlin is unlikely to take place for a longer period of time, and may be delayed to 2024. ==See also==