Berlin voters express discontent with chaotic status quo

By KIRSTEN GRIESHABER
Associated Press

BERLIN (AP) — The city of Berlin has held a court-ordered rerun of a chaotic 2021 state election that was marred by severe glitches at many polling stations. Projections showed the center-right Christian Democratic Union ahead with 27.5% of Sunday’s vote, followed by the Greens with 18.8%, and the Social Democrats with 18.7%, according to public broadcaster ARD. The final results, along with coalition negotiations, will determine who serves as the mayor and state senators of Germany’s capital. If the projections hold up, it would be the first time in more than two decades that the Christian Democrats emerged as the strongest party in Berlin. The city’s notoriously dysfunctional administration has long defied cliches of German efficiency.