2026 Berlin state election

2026 Berlin state election

20 September 2026

First party Second party Third party   Party CDU SPD Greens Last election 52 seats, 28.2% 34 seats, 18.4% 34 seats, 18.4%   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Party Left AfD BSW Last election 22 seats, 12.2% 17 seats, 9.1% 0 seats, 0%

Government before election Wegner senate CDU–SPD Elected Government TBD

The next election to the 20th Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin is scheduled for 20 September 2026 for a legislative period of five years. Due to the repeat election for the Berlin Abgeordnetenhaus in 2023, in which members were elected only for the remainder of the 19th legislative period, the original 2021 election date remained decisive for determining the timing of the next regular election.

Unless the parliament decides to dissolve earlier, the election for the 20th Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin will take place on 20 September 2026. Article 54 of the Berlin Constitution stipulates that a regular election must occur no earlier than 56 months and no later than 59 months after the start of the Abgeordnetenhaus's legislative period.^[1] The 19th Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin was constituted on November 4, 2021.^[2][3]

The Abgeordnetenhaus is elected via mixed-member proportional representation. 78 members are elected in single-member constituencies via first-past-the-post voting. 52 members are then allocated using compensatory proportional representation, distributed in each of Berlin's twelve boroughs. Voters have two votes: the "first vote" for candidates in single-member constituencies, and the "second vote" for party lists, which are used to fill the proportional seats. The minimum size of the Abgeordnetenhaus is 130 members, but if overhang seats are present, proportional leveling seats will be added to ensure proportionality. An electoral threshold of 5% of valid votes is applied to the Abgeordnetenhaus; parties that fall below this threshold are excluded from the Abgeordnetenhaus. However, parties which win at least one single-member constituency are exempt from the threshold and will be allocated seats proportionally, even if they fall below 5%.^[4]

In the 2023 Berlin repeat state election With 28% of votes, the opposition Christian Democratic Union (CDU) grew by over ten percentage points and emerged as the largest party by a wide margin, the first time it had done so since 1999. All three governing parties declined; the SPD suffered its worst result in over a century with 18.4%, and only barely remained ahead of the Greens by a margin of 53 votes. The Left also slipped to 12%. The Alternative for Germany (AfD) recorded a small upswing to 9%, while the Free Democratic Party (FDP) fell to 4.6% and lost all their seats. Overall, the incumbent government retained a reduced majority. The CDU claimed a mandate to govern given its first-place result, while mayor Franziska Giffey committed to remaining in government. The Left called for a renewal of the outgoing coalition.^[5]

After various talks between parties, the SPD and CDU voted at the beginning of March to begin negotiations for a grand coalition. CDU leader Kai Wegner was approved as mayor on 27 April after three rounds of voting.^[6][7]

The table below lists parties previously represented in the 19th Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin.