According to RND information, the federal and state returning officers will meet on Monday to discuss how to deal with the expected early election. Federal Returning Officer Ruth Brand will discuss the necessary measures with the state returning officers, the Editorial Network Germany (RND) learned from administrative circles.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) had initially set the date for the vote of confidence as January 15th, i.e. a date in two months, but after protests from the Union and FDP, he was open to an earlier date.
The general manager of the German Association of Cities, Helmut Dedy, unsurprisingly pointed out that longer lead times make it easier to organize elections. “Organizing elections always involves effort for cities. Of course, this is especially true when lead times are tighter,” Dedy told RND.
Cities and municipalities ready for earlier election date
Meanwhile, the municipalities appeared open to an earlier election date. “Preparation becomes significantly easier the earlier the possible election date is known,” said a statement from the German Association of Cities and Municipalities (DStGB), which is available to the RND. “Of course, the Christmas period and the holidays would pose an additional challenge. Nevertheless, the cities and municipalities will in any case be able to hold a proper federal election within the legally stipulated deadlines.” The majority of Germans had spoken out in favor of quick new elections in an opinion poll.
The organizational preparations included, among other things, the search for rooms for polling stations and postal voting stations, the search for election workers and the creation and printing of voting documents. “The dispatch of postal voting documents and election notifications in particular must take place sufficiently in advance of the election date,” the statement says. “Here, the municipalities rely on the parties to put forward candidates and submit election proposals.”
Frei accuses Scholz of instrumentalizing the returning officer
Scholz said on the sidelines of the informal EU summit in Budapest that he had already announced on Wednesday that he wanted to quickly enable new elections in Germany so that there would be clarity soon. The head of the CSU MPs in the Bundestag, Alexander Dobrindt, rejects the Chancellor’s offer to simultaneously discuss outstanding resolutions in the Bundestag and the timing of the vote of confidence. Dobrindt fears tactical games: “Scholz is trying to twist the order. The suspicion immediately arises that he is trying to do something trick again. We won’t get involved in something like that. First the question of trust, then we can talk about topics,” he told the “Rheinische Post”.
The Parliamentary Managing Director of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, Thorsten Frei, accuses Scholz of instrumentalizing the Federal Returning Officer. “Scholz should finally stop giving the population an X for a U,” he said. Of course, the Bundestag is still able to act and can pass laws even after the immediate vote of confidence demanded by the Union.
The rump government made up of the SPD and the Greens must now learn that things cannot continue as before for them, said Frei. “Above all, it should refrain from any attempts to exploit heads of authorities for party political games,” he emphasized, alluding to the Federal Returning Officer. This warned on Friday of irregularities in the election process due to a short-term appointment and preparations during the Christmas period. “The Union is demanding nothing other than new elections according to law and order,” emphasized Frei.
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