German election: Berlin voters face polling station chaos

Voters hoping to cast their ballot in Germany’s capital city Berlin on Sunday have encountered widespread queues and chaos at polling stations.

The disruption comes as Germany holds nationwide parliamentary elections that will see Chancellor Angela Merkel step down after almost 16 years in the top post.

A number of factors have been blamed for the disruption, including the number of polls — three are taking place simultaneously — as well as coronavirus hygiene measures and ballot paper shortages.

All eligible voters queuing at 6 p.m. will still be able to cast their ballot

What’s the situation like for voters in Berlin?

Berliners heading to polling stations are facing waits of up to 90 minutes before casting their ballots, local media reported.

Voters in the Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf and Friedrichshain districts of the city have experienced the most disruption, according to Germany’s Bild tabloid newspaper.

Some stations in Friedrichain received ballot papers marked Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf and had to shut while the correct papers were delivered. Votes cast on the incorrect ballots were also declared invalid.

By early afternoon, a number of polling stations announced that they had run out of ballot papers, the Tagesspiegel newspaper reported.

In some places, would-be-voters were having to wait for up to 90 minutes before reaching the polling booth

Additional ballot papers were initially unable to be sent to stations due to a marathon taking place in the city, Tagesspiegel added.

“We had to close for ands hour because we ran out of ballot papers and no-one was able to vote,” one election day official at a station in Wilmersdorf told the newspaper.

The Federal Election Commission tweeted that there was no evidence for missing ballot papers for the federal elections.

What’s behind the confusion?

DW correspondent Sabine Kinkartz explained: “One reason is the coronavirus hygiene requirements, but also that a total of six ballots have to be filled out.”

In addition to the Bundestag elections, Berliners are voting for the Berlin House of Representatives and the district assemblies. There is also a referendum on housing developers taking place.

In Berlin, authorities reported 27.4% turnout by midday, compared to 27.2% in 2017.

There’s still time to vote, reassures official

While polling officially ends at 6 p.m. local time, anyone standing in line outside their polling station at this time would still be allowed to vote, reassured Geert Baasen, the spokesman for the state election administration.

He explained that at 6 p.m., a check is made in front of the polling stations to see who is the last person in line. All those will still be permitted to cast their vote. “Anyone who joins the queue after 6 p.m. will not,” Baasen added.

Article source: https://www.dw.com/en/german-election-berlin-voters-face-polling-station-chaos/a-59316688?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf