Berlin – Much is known about the chaos elections of September 26th: excessively long waiting times, incorrect and too few ballot papers, polling stations that were closed at times, incorrect counts, a conspicuous number of invalid votes. The list of irregularities is so long that at the end of the day a court has to decide whether the elections have taken place within the legally permissible framework or whether there must be by-elections in individual constituencies.
According to the law, the official final result must be published in the official gazette six weeks after the election – it will be in three weeks. From then on there is a four-week deadline for objections. Even the regional election management has already announced an objection, the internal administration reserves the right to take this step.
All appeals will end up on the desk of Ludgera Selting, President of the Constitutional Court, the highest court in Berlin. The 57-year-old comes from the Münsterland. In 1996 she became a judge at the Charlottenburg District Court, after various changes she rose to become Vice President of the Berlin Regional Court in 2017 – a stepping stone.
There was some excitement around Selting’s appointment at the Constitutional Court in October 2019 – although that had nothing to do with her. Proposed by the SPD as the successor to Court President Sabine Schudoma, she easily received the required two-thirds majority in the House of Representatives. After that, however, the CDU refused to approve a left-wing candidate as a judge. It was not until six months later that the position was filled. Since then, the Constitutional Court has been complete again with nine judges.
Ludgera Selting will also need a sure instinct for her vote for the elections. For example, when citizens claim that the long queues have deprived them of their right to vote. However, there is no case law on the question of what a reasonable waiting time is. The committee will therefore have to take a “realistic view” – a common practice among lawyers.
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