The Bundestag's election review committee is set to reject the Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW) party's objections to the federal election results. An internal expert opinion finds no basis for a recount of votes. The party announces plans to sue at the Federal Constitutional Court.
The Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW) has been pushing for a recount of the Bundestag election for months after narrowly missing the five-percent threshold with 4.981 percent of second votes. The party claims it was short by 9,529 votes nationwide. It alleges counting errors and believes it should have secured seats in parliament.
According to reports from dpa, Table Media, and Politico, the BSW's chances before the election review committee are fading. A 46-page expert opinion serving as a recommendation deems the objections unfounded. It states: “Based on the objections' arguments, no mandate-relevant violation of election law provisions and thus no election error can be established.” Deviations between provisional and final results are typical and reflect standard verification processes. There are no indications of systematic errors favoring or harming any party. Recounts in individual districts improved the BSW's tally only marginally.
The committee meets on December 4 to approve the recommendation, after which the full Bundestag will decide. Committee sources say the work was particularly thorough, anticipating a lawsuit at the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe. BSW founder Sahra Wagenknecht told the RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland (RND): “If the committee adopts the recommendation, the democracy deniers will have prevailed. [...] At least now the path to Karlsruhe is finally clear for us.”
The AfD has signaled support for a recount, but it would not suffice for a majority. Success could redistribute mandates and strip Chancellor Friedrich Merz's (CDU) black-red coalition of its majority. The BSW's earlier urgent motion at the Constitutional Court was rejected in March.