Berlin Neukölln (electoral district)

Location of constituency in Berlin

Berlin Neukölln is one of the 299 single member constituencies used for the German parliament, the Bundestag. Located in the south of Berlin, the constituency was created for the 1990 election, the first following German reunification. The first two elections in 1990 and 1994 were won by the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). The constituency was then gained by the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) in 1998 but was one of several Berlin districts which the CDU regained at the 2009 election. The CDU victor in 2009 was Stefanie Vogelsang, a former local councillor for the area.[1] At the 2013 election, Fritz Felgentreu regained the district for the SPD.[2]

History and boundaries

The constituency, numbered constituency 83 by the German electoral authorities,[3] contains the whole of the Berlin borough of Neukölln. It has been a marginal constituency, being held by the CDU from 1990 to 1998 and from 2009 to the present.

Profile

The district is home to about 300,000 people, around one third of whom are immigrants, mostly concentrated in the northern part of the area around Sonnenallee,[4] one of the main thoroughfares. Most of the immigrants are Muslim, with Turks a prominent ethnic group, and the area contains 20 of Berlin's approximately 80 Mosques.[4]

The number of residents with German citizenship at the end of 2004 was 78.2%, the lowest figure for any constituency in Germany[5] and below the Berlin average of 86.6%.[6] 20.9% of residents had University qualifications.[6] The unemployment rate in 2010 was almost double the average for Berlin, with higher figures for immigrant groups.[7] Parts of the area have also suffered from rising crime, particularly robberies and assaults, which have doubled since 1990.[4]

Electoral system

Elections in Germany take place using the Additional Member System. Voters have two votes, one for a constituency MP and one for a regional list to elect representatives for the whole of Berlin city. Elections for the Neukölln constituency take place using the first past the post system.

Results

2009 election

Party Constituency results List results
Candidate Votes % share +/- Votes % share +/-
Christian Democratic Union Stefanie Vogelsang 39,618 30.8 -5.8 33,469 25.9 -2.5
Social Democratic Party of Germany Fritz Felgentreu 35,168 27.3 -12.0 27,639 21.4 -13.2
Alliance '90/The Greens Anja Kofbinger 18,805 14.6 +5.1 22,698 17.6 +4.5
The Left Party.PDS Ruben Lehnert 15,825 12.3 +5.6 17,986 13.9 +5.2
Free Democratic Party Andreas Lück 11,468 8.9 +5.3 16,486 12.8 +4.3
National Democratic Party of Germany Jan Sturm 3,356 2.6 +0.6 2,554 2.0 +0.3
Pirate Party N/A N/A N/A N/A 4,339 3.4 N/A
Others N/A 1,805 1.4 N/A 4,085 3.2 N/A

Out of a total electorate of 197,444, the total number of votes cast was 132,613 (67.2%) of which 3,915 votes were invalid.

Source:[8]

2005 election

Party Constituency results List results
Candidate Votes % share +/- Votes % share +/-
Social Democratic Party of Germany Ditmar Staffelt 55,264 39.3 -2.6 48,866 34.6 -1.7
Christian Democratic Union Eberhard Diepgen 51,444 36.6 0.0 40,087 28.4 -5.4
Alliance '90/The Greens Sibyll-Anka Klotz 13,381 9.5 +0.2 18,438 13.1 -0.5
The Left Party.PDS Evrim Baba 9,375 6.7 +3.2 12,260 8.7 +5.6
Free Democratic Party Klaus-Dieter Humpich 5,076 3.6 -2.5 12,035 8.5 +1.4
National Democratic Party of Germany 2,832 2.0 N/A 2,370 1.7 +1.3
The Grays – Gray Panthers N/A N/A N/A N/A 3,766 2.7 +1.3
Others N/A 3,227 2.3 N/A 2,265 1.6 N/A

Out of a total electorate of 194,781, the total number of votes cast was 144,224 (74.0%) of which 3,625 votes were invalid.

Source:[9]

2002 election

Party Constituency results List results
Candidate Votes % share +/- Votes % share +/-
Social Democratic Party of Germany Ditmar Staffelt 61,128 41.9 -6.6 53,128 36.3 -4.8
Christian Democratic Union Verena Butalikakis 53,359 36.6 +4.8 49,463 33.8 +5.0
Alliance '90/The Greens Michael Cramer 13,549 9.3 +1.7 19,952 13.6 +2.5
Party of Democratic Socialism (Germany) Evrim Baba 5,048 3.5 +1.1 4,607 3.1 +0.1
Free Democratic Party Klaus-Dieter Humpich 8,842 6.1 +3.7 10,322 7.1 +2.3
The Grays – Gray Panthers Ernst Schaub 3,796 2.6 +1.2 2,028 1.4 +0.2
Law and Order Offensive Party (Schill) N/A N/A N/A N/A 3,541 2.4 N/A
National Democratic Party of Germany N/A N/A N/A N/A 589 0.4 +0.2
Others N/A 0 0 N/A 1,324 1.0 N/A

Out of a total electorate of 197,948, the total number of votes cast was 148,765 (75.2%) of which 2,430 votes were invalid.

Source:[10]

References

  1. ↑ The New Berlin Wall, Peter Schneider, New York Times magazine, 4 December 2005
  2. ↑ Wer in Berlin die Direktmandate gewinnt, Der Tagesspiegel, 23 September 2013
  3. ↑ Election results and statistics (German)
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Muslims in Germany:Life in a Parallel Society, Norbert F. Pötzl, Speigel, 16 April 2008
  5. ↑ Constituency data accessed 29 November 2010
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Constituency data
  7. ↑ "Berlin's economy:The hole in the middle", The Economist, 11 November 2010
  8. ↑ 2009 results accessed 29 November 2010
  9. ↑ 2005 results accessed 29 November 2010
  10. ↑ 2002 results accessed 29 November 2010