Germany’s political landscape has been thrown into turmoil as more than a third of citizens now want a recount of the federal election.
The demand comes after a vote-counting blunder in the mayoral run-off in Mülheim an der Ruhr, in which officials initially declared victory for the candidate of the left-wing SPD before correcting the tally in favor of the center-right CDU. The incident has led many to question how many similar mistakes may have gone unnoticed in February’s federal election.
According to a recent INSA poll, 36% of Germans now support a recount, while 30% oppose it. Support is strongest among supporters of the left-wing nationalist BSW (77%) and the right-wing Alternative for Germany (60%), revealing deep dissatisfaction with the political establishment and growing distrust in Germany’s electoral process.
The BSW narrowly missed the 5% threshold in February, winning 4.981% of the vote—just 9,500 votes short of entering parliament.
The party has been calling for a recount, claiming that even minimal counting errors could have altered the result. Party founder Sahra Wagenknecht has harshly criticised the Bundestag’s election review committee for stalling.
“The election review committee is becoming more and more of a farce by the week. A decision should have been reached long ago. The committee is damaging the reputation of parliament and democracy,” she said.
A recount could undermine the credibility of the governing black-red coalition, which could lose its parliamentary majority.
ZDFheute reports that the review of the BSW’s objections continued at pace over the weekend, with SPD politician Johannes Fechner expressing confidence that the election review committee will soon release its findings.
Wagenknecht has indicated that she intends to take her case to the Federal Constitutional Court if the decision is negative.
Wagenknecht insists that the dispute is about “ above all, trust in democracy as a whole,” not just her party’s fate.
