Following the collapse of Germany’s centre-left coalition, the Bundestag’s Committee on Electoral Review is due to meet on Tuesday morning for a special session to discuss a new election date.
According to the administration of the German lower house of parliament, Federal Returning Officer Ruth Brand is expected to attend to report on the status of the election preparations.
Brand caused a stir last week when she warned that an election date as early as January or February was too soon.
Opposition CDU/CSU parliamentary group leader Friedrich Merz is demanding an election in the second half of January.
A statement from the federal returning officer to Chancellor Olaf Scholz said, “Overall, I see a high risk in this case that the cornerstone of democracy and trust in the integrity of the election could be compromised,” referring to such an early date.
The CDU/CSU bloc accuses Brand of allowing herself to be politically manipulated by Scholz. Government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit dismissed this accusation as absurd.
The session of the Committee on Electoral Review is expected to be public and can be followed online on the Bundestag’s website.
