The leader of the regional elections held on Sunday, March 14, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, according to preliminary voting results, became the Greens with 31% of the vote, followed by the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) with 23%, which is 4 % lower than the results of previous elections, writes Die Welt.
Alternative for Germany gained 11.5%, losing 3.6% of the vote compared to the 2016 vote. The Social Democratic Party got 12%, while the Liberals from the Free Democratic Party got 11.5%, which is 3% higher than their previous figure.
The “Left” and “Free Voters” could not pass the 5% barrier, since 3.5% and 3% of voters, respectively, voted for them.
At the same time, according to the newspaper, electoral preferences look different in Rhineland-Palatinate, as the Social Democrats retained the leadership there with 34.5%, having lost 1.7%. The CDU was in second place with 26%, but compared to 2016, the party lost almost 6%. “Alternative for Germany” was supported by 10.5% of voters, which is 2.1% worse than its previous figure in the elections. The “greens” were able to gain only 8.5%, while gaining 3.2% of new voters. They are followed by Free Democrats (6.5%) and Free Voters (5.5%). The Levs failed to get into the Landtag, gaining only 2.5%.
Thus, in Baden-Württemberg, the ruling coalition of the Greens and the CDU retains the majority, while in Rhineland-Palatinate, the Social Democrats and the Greens.
In total, about 7.7 million people will take part in the state elections in Baden-Württemberg in 2021. 872 applicants from 21 parties have entered the electoral race. In Rhineland-Palatinate, 3.1 million people will vote. A total of 13 parties took part in the elections, 716 candidates appear on the lists.
At the end of February, the publication, citing data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Germany, reported that the parliamentary elections in Germany, which will be held in 2021, are at risk of becoming the most expensive in the history of the country due to the coronavirus pandemic.
As calculated in the ministry, the cost of the parliamentary elections, which will be held on September 26, will amount to € 107 million.Voting costs will exceed the € 100 million mark for the first time: the 2017 elections cost the treasury € 92 million.
The main reason for these costs, the publication cites a sharp increase in the number of voters by mail due to the situation with COVID-19 in the country, since the state provides free delivery of votes cast by mail. Four years ago, the share of voting by mail was 28.6%, but now the number may increase dramatically.