Final Bundestag Election Results Confirm BSW Fails to Overcome Five Percent Threshold

The final results of the recent Bundestag election have been announced, revealing only minor adjustments from the preliminary counts reported on election night. The party led by Sahra Wagenknecht, known as BSW, garnered an additional 4,277 valid second votes; however, with a total of 4.98 percent of the votes, it fell just short of the essential five percent threshold required to secure a seat in the Bundestag.

According to the Federal Electoral Committee's meeting in Berlin, the overall election results and seat distribution in the 21st Bundestag remain unchanged. The Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) achieved 28.5 percent of the votes, while the Alternative for Germany (AfD) followed with 20.8 percent. The Social Democratic Party (SPD) received 16.4 percent, the Greens 11.6 percent, and the Left Party 8.8 percent. The Free Democratic Party (FDP) faced elimination from the Bundestag with only 4.3 percent of the votes.

In terms of seat allocation, the CDU/CSU will hold 208 seats, the AfD 152, the SPD 120, the Greens 85, the Left Party 64, and the SSW one seat.

Minor adjustments in the total number of valid second votes were observed for several parties. The CDU saw an increase of 1,674 votes, the SPD gained 840, and the AfD added 1,632 votes. Conversely, the FDP had 121 votes deducted. These adjustments stemmed primarily from corrections made to the preliminary second vote counts in several states, including Niedersachsen, Bayern, and Baden-Württemberg.

Ruth Brand, the Federal Returning Officer, reported some irregularities during the election process. For instance, in the Trier constituency of Rhineland-Palatinate, ballots intended for Berlin-Pankow were mistakenly sent out. Consequently, 15 voters used these incorrect ballots, which were later declared invalid.

Additionally, three instances of double voting were identified in different federal states. In these cases, election materials were inadvertently sent out twice, prompting immediate measures to prevent any double submissions. One notable incident occurred in the Eichsfeld-Nordhausen-Kyffhäuserkreis constituency, where one individual distracted the election officials, allowing another to cast two votes. Similar occurrences were noted in Hamburg-Wandsbek and the Erzgebirgskreis I constituency in Saxony, leading to criminal charges in these cases.