Berlin, Germany State election 2026 (Abgeordnetenhauswahl) — Results

Berlin votes on 20 September 2026

Berliners elect the 20th Abgeordnetenhaus — the city-state's parliament — on Sunday 20 September 2026. Berlin is simultaneously a city and one of Germany's sixteen federal states, so the chamber chosen that day both runs the municipality and sends the capital's voice to the Bundesrat. It is the same day Mecklenburg-Vorpommern votes, and the two counts will run in parallel through the evening.

The parliament elected in 2026 sits for a full five-year term. That length is itself a consequence of Berlin's recent electoral history: the 2021 election was so badly administered — ballot shortages, queues past closing time, papers handed out for the wrong constituency — that the Constitutional Court annulled it outright, and a repeat election was held on 12 February 2023. Those members were seated only for what remained of the 19th legislative period, so the clock for the next regular election kept running from 2021. This is the first Berlin election since 2016 to arrive on an ordinary schedule.

How the Abgeordnetenhaus is elected

Berlin uses mixed-member proportional representation. Every voter casts two votes: a first vote (Erststimme) for a named candidate in one of 78 single-member constituencies, decided by simple plurality, and a second vote (Zweitstimme) for a party list. The second vote is the one that matters for the balance of the chamber — it sets each party's overall entitlement, with 52 further seats distributed through Berlin's twelve boroughs to top the parties up to proportionality. The nominal size is 130 seats, 66 for a majority, but overhang and levelling seats can push it higher; the 2023 parliament came out at 159.

A party needs 5% of the valid second votes to share in the proportional distribution. Berlin adds a basic-mandate exemption of its own: a party that wins even one constituency outright is admitted to the proportional share regardless of its statewide percentage — a clause that matters in a city where the Greens and the Left both hold dense inner-city strongholds. Voting age is 18 for the Abgeordnetenhaus, though 16-year-olds may vote in the borough council elections held the same day.

The starting position: 2023

The February 2023 repeat election reordered Berlin politics. The CDU won 28.2% and 52 seats, gaining more than ten points and finishing first for the first time since 1999. All three governing parties fell. The SPD recorded 18.4% — its worst Berlin result in over a century — and stayed ahead of the Greens, also on 18.4%, by 53 votes: 279,017 to 278,964. The Left took 12.2% and 22 seats, the AfD 9.1% and 17, and the FDP fell to 4.6% and out of the chamber altogether. Turnout was 62.9%.

Despite the red-green-red coalition technically retaining a majority, the SPD chose to govern with the CDU instead. Kai Wegner was elected Governing Mayor on 27 April 2023, at the third round of voting, at the head of a CDU-SPD grand coalition.

Who is standing, and the change at the top of the CDU

The CDU goes into this election without the mayor who won the last one. Wegner drew sustained criticism for his handling of the arson attack on Berlin's power grid on 3 January 2026, and after reporting in July that he had made no official calls about the blackout until nearly seven hours after it began, he stood down as the party's lead candidate on 10 July 2026. He remains in office and is still contesting his own constituency in Spandau, but has ruled out serving in the next Senate. Finance Senator Stefan Evers was named in his place the same evening.

Steffen Krach leads the SPD, Bettina Jarasch and Werner Graf the Greens, Elif Eralp the Left, and Kristin Brinker the AfD. The Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW), which did not exist in 2023, contests its first Berlin election under Alexander King and Michael Lüders.

Polling through the summer of 2026 has shown an unusually tight and fragmented field: no clear frontrunner, with four parties bunched in the high teens to low twenties and no obvious two-party coalition. ElectioMap does not publish forecasts, and nothing on this page is a projection — only counted votes appear here.

What ElectioMap will show on the night

This page will carry the official second-vote result for Berlin as the state returning officer (Die Landeswahlleiterin für Berlin) publishes it, with vote shares to two decimal places, seat totals for the new Abgeordnetenhaus and turnout, all captioned with how much of the count each figure rests on. No exit poll or broadcaster projection will appear here at any point, and no winner will be named until the arithmetic settles it.

Figures come from the Landeswahlleiterin's own results publication at wahlen-berlin.de, the body that administers and certifies the vote. Provisional results are normally complete late on election night; the certified result follows some weeks later, and this page is updated when it does.

Frequently asked questions

When is the 2026 Berlin state election?

Sunday 20 September 2026. Berliners elect the 20th Abgeordnetenhaus for a five-year term. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern votes the same day.

What is the Abgeordnetenhaus?

It is the parliament of Berlin, which is both a city and one of Germany's sixteen federal states. The chamber elects the Governing Mayor (Regierender Bürgermeister) and legislates for the city-state; Berlin is also represented in the federal Bundesrat.

How does the voting system work?

Mixed-member proportional representation. Each voter has two votes: a first vote for a candidate in one of 78 single-member constituencies, decided by plurality, and a second vote for a party list. The second vote is decisive — 52 further seats are distributed across Berlin's twelve boroughs to make the chamber proportional. The nominal size is 130 seats, 66 for a majority, but overhang and levelling seats can raise it; the 2023 parliament had 159.

Is there an electoral threshold?

Yes, 5% of valid second votes. Berlin also has a basic-mandate exemption: a party that wins at least one constituency outright shares in the proportional distribution even if it falls below 5%.

Why was the last Berlin election in 2023 and not 2021?

There was an election in September 2021, but it was so badly run — ballot shortages, wrong papers, queues past closing time — that the Constitutional Court annulled it. A repeat election was held on 12 February 2023, and those members were seated only for the remainder of the 19th legislative period. The timetable for the next regular election continued to run from 2021, which is why it falls in September 2026.

What was the result in 2023?

The CDU won 28.2% and 52 seats, finishing first for the first time since 1999. The SPD took 18.4% and 34 seats, its worst Berlin result in over a century, edging the Greens — also on 18.4% and 34 seats — by 53 votes. The Left won 12.2% and 22 seats, the AfD 9.1% and 17, and the FDP fell to 4.6% and lost all its seats. Turnout was 62.9%. A CDU-SPD coalition followed, with Kai Wegner elected Governing Mayor on 27 April 2023.

Who are the lead candidates?

Stefan Evers leads the CDU, Steffen Krach the SPD, Bettina Jarasch and Werner Graf the Greens, Elif Eralp the Left and Kristin Brinker the AfD; the BSW contests Berlin for the first time under Alexander King and Michael Lüders. Kai Wegner stood down as the CDU's lead candidate on 10 July 2026 after criticism of his response to the January arson attack on the city's power grid; he remains Governing Mayor and is contesting his own constituency in Spandau, but has ruled out serving in the next Senate.

When will results be available?

Polls close at 18:00 CEST and provisional results are normally complete late on election night. This page shows the official second-vote figures from Die Landeswahlleiterin für Berlin as they are published, each captioned with how much of the count they rest on. No exit poll or broadcaster projection appears here, and no winner is named until the votes still to be counted cannot change the order.

Compiled and reviewed from official results by ElectioMap. See our data methodology.