Federal Constitutional Court: BSW election results - Karlsruhe will decide on Wednesday

Karlsruhe. The Federal Constitutional Court wants to publish its decision on Wednesday on an election audit complaint about the results of the BSW in the 2025 federal election. This emerges from the weekly outlook on the court's website. The complaint is therefore “in connection with the counting of the ballot papers and the determination of the second vote result of the BSW party”.

Party founder Sahra Wagenknecht told the Editorial Network Germany (RND) that it was “remarkable” that the court wanted to decide without an oral hearing. “This would only be understandable if the Federal Constitutional Court ordered a recount of the federal election,” she said. “If Karlsruhe were to simply brush off the review of the election without an oral hearing despite documented irregularities and counting errors, it would ultimately destroy the already shaken trust in the constitutional state and its institutions.”

The BSW narrowly failed to pass the five percent hurdle in the federal election with 4.981 percent of the second votes. Nationwide, 9,529 votes were missing. The BSW assumes there are counting errors and assumes that there should actually be 35 members of parliament. In that case, the current black-red coalition alone would not have a majority.

The election verification procedure is anchored in the Basic Law. Accordingly, the Bundestag is initially responsible. An election audit complaint can only be lodged in Karlsruhe once parliament has decided. The highest German judges then check whether the electoral law was applied correctly and whether it is compatible with the constitution.

On December 18, 2025, the Bundestag rejected a request from the BSW and other people for a recount of the federal election. The Federal Constitutional Court is now deciding on a complaint that is directed against this decision. According to previous information, the responsible rapporteur in the proceedings is the Chairwoman of the Second Senate and Vice President of the Court, Ann-Katrin Kaufhold. (Ref. 2 BvC 4/26)