Wednesday 15, February
On Wednesday, there were 519 new Covid-19 infections reported in Berlin. The seven-day incidence currently stands at 66.6 cases per 100,000 people.
Uh oh, not again… “Major glitch” reported in Berlin’s election re-do
Are you kidding, Berlin? The city went through the massive effort of repeating its whole election last Sunday and, whether or not you liked the results, it seemed the process had been conducted relatively smoothly. Now, it looks like there has been a significant error in the district of Lichtenberg, where 466 uncounted ballots have been discovered. While the number might not seem particularly high, Sunday’s election results were on a knife-edge, with the SPD in second place only 105 votes ahead of the Greens in third, making a significant impact on the overall results quite possible.
But given the makeup of the Lichtenberg district, this is not thought to be likely. The party with the greatest share of votes in the district was the CDU, with the SPD in second and the Greens in third. However, if the Greens were to overtake the SPD as a result of these uncounted votes, it could be meaningful. It is usually the leading party in a coalition who takes the post of mayor, and the Green finishing above the SPD would likely give them top spot in a Red-Red-Green coalition.