Berlin Mitte (electoral constituency)
Encyclopedia
Berlin Mitte or Berlin Central is one of the 299 single member constituencies
used for the German parliament, the Bundestag
. Located in central Berlin
, it was created for the 2002 election and all elections to date have been won by the Social Democratic Party of Germany
(SPD). In the 2009 election, the SPD lost five of their seven seats in Berlin, leaving this constituency and Berlin Charlottenburg – Wilmersdorf
as the only Berlin constituencies to be represented by the party.
of Mitte
. This borough, a merger of three former boroughs, was created by a 2001 administrative reform. Most of the constituency was formerly part of the Berlin Tiergarten - Wedding - North Charlottenburg constituency, taking in all of that district except for the North Charlottenburg section. To this was added the former borough of Mitte which had previously been associated with Prenzlauer Berg
in the Berlin Mitte - Prenzlauer Berg constituency. It is one of two constituencies together with Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg - Prenzlauer Berg East
which currently include parts of the former East Berlin
and West Berlin
. The constituency contains a number of Berlin landmarks such as Museum Island
, Brandenburg Gate
, Unter den Linden
and the Reichstag.
In 1998, of the two predecessor constituencies, Mitte - Prenzlauer Berg had been narrowly won by Left Party.PDS
(PDS) who had finished 283 votes (0.2%) ahead of the SPD. Whereas Tiergarten - Wedding - North Charlottenburg had been the safest SPD seat in Berlin at the 1998 election, as they had beaten the CDU
by 32000 votes (23.9%) with the PDS achieving only 2.9% of the votes. The current seat has been a safe SPD seat and produced their largest percentage majority in Berlin at the 2005 election, although the party had higher vote shares in the constituencies of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf and Pankow.
had the highest foreign born population in all of Berlin. 29.3% of the population had qualifications which met the requirements for University entry.
. 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 Mitte constituency take place using the First past the post system.
Out of a total electorate of 192,321 the total number of votes cast was 142,190 (73.9%) of which 2,829 where invalid.
Out of a total electorate of 201,240, the total number of votes cast was 150,464 (74.8%) of which 2,393 votes were invalid.
Electoral district
An electoral district is a distinct territorial subdivision for holding a separate election for one or more seats in a legislative body...
used for the German parliament, the Bundestag
Bundestag
The Bundestag is a federal legislative body in Germany. In practice Germany is governed by a bicameral legislature, of which the Bundestag serves as the lower house and the Bundesrat the upper house. The Bundestag is established by the German Basic Law of 1949, as the successor to the earlier...
. Located in central Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, it was created for the 2002 election and all elections to date have been won by the Social Democratic Party of Germany
Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
(SPD). In the 2009 election, the SPD lost five of their seven seats in Berlin, leaving this constituency and Berlin Charlottenburg – Wilmersdorf
Berlin Charlottenburg – Wilmersdorf (electoral district)
thumb|right|250px|Location of constituency in BerlinBerlin Charlottenburg – Wilmersdorf is one of the 299 single member constituencies used for the German parliament, the Bundestag. Located in West Berlin, the constituency was created for the 1990 election, the first following German reunification...
as the only Berlin constituencies to be represented by the party.
History and boundaries
The constituency, numbered constituency 76 by the German electoral authorities, was created for the first time for the 2002 election when the number of constituencies in Berlin was reduced from 13 to 12. It contains the whole of the Berlin boroughBoroughs and localities of Berlin
Berlin is both a city and one of Germany’s federal states. It is made up of twelve boroughs , each with its own borough government, though all boroughs are subject to Berlin’s city and state government.-History:Each borough is made up of several officially recognized localities...
of Mitte
Mitte
Mitte is the first and most central borough of Berlin. It was created in Berlin's 2001 administrative reform by the merger of the former districts of Mitte proper, Tiergarten and Wedding; the resulting borough retained the name Mitte. It is one of the two boroughs which comprises former West and...
. This borough, a merger of three former boroughs, was created by a 2001 administrative reform. Most of the constituency was formerly part of the Berlin Tiergarten - Wedding - North Charlottenburg constituency, taking in all of that district except for the North Charlottenburg section. To this was added the former borough of Mitte which had previously been associated with Prenzlauer Berg
Prenzlauer Berg
Prenzlauer Berg is a locality of Berlin, in the borough of Pankow.Until 2001, Prenzlauer Berg was a borough of Berlin; in that year it was included in the borough of Pankow....
in the Berlin Mitte - Prenzlauer Berg constituency. It is one of two constituencies together with Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg - Prenzlauer Berg East
Berlin Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg - Prenzlauer Berg East (electoral constituency)
thumb|right|300px|Location of constituency in BerlinBerlin Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg- - Prenzlauer Berg East is one of the 299 single member constituencies used for the German parliament, the Bundestag...
which currently include parts of the former East Berlin
East Berlin
East Berlin was the name given to the eastern part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990. It consisted of the Soviet sector of Berlin that was established in 1945. The American, British and French sectors became West Berlin, a part strongly associated with West Germany but a free city...
and West Berlin
West Berlin
West Berlin was a political exclave that existed between 1949 and 1990. It comprised the western regions of Berlin, which were bordered by East Berlin and parts of East Germany. West Berlin consisted of the American, British, and French occupation sectors, which had been established in 1945...
. The constituency contains a number of Berlin landmarks such as Museum Island
Museum Island
Museum Island is the name of the northern half of an island in the Spree river in the central Mitte district of Berlin, Germany, the site of the old city of Cölln...
, Brandenburg Gate
Brandenburg Gate
The Brandenburg Gate is a former city gate and one of the most well-known landmarks of Berlin and Germany. It is located west of the city centre at the junction of Unter den Linden and Ebertstraße, immediately west of the Pariser Platz. It is the only remaining gate of a series through which...
, Unter den Linden
Unter den Linden
Unter den Linden is a boulevard in the Mitte district of Berlin, the capital of Germany. It is named for its linden trees that line the grassed pedestrian mall between two carriageways....
and the Reichstag.
In 1998, of the two predecessor constituencies, Mitte - Prenzlauer Berg had been narrowly won by Left Party.PDS
The Left (Germany)
The Left , also commonly referred to as the Left Party , is a democratic socialist political party in Germany. The Left is the most left-wing party of the five represented in the Bundestag....
(PDS) who had finished 283 votes (0.2%) ahead of the SPD. Whereas Tiergarten - Wedding - North Charlottenburg had been the safest SPD seat in Berlin at the 1998 election, as they had beaten the CDU
Christian Democratic Union (Germany)
The Christian Democratic Union of Germany is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It is regarded as on the centre-right of the German political spectrum...
by 32000 votes (23.9%) with the PDS achieving only 2.9% of the votes. The current seat has been a safe SPD seat and produced their largest percentage majority in Berlin at the 2005 election, although the party had higher vote shares in the constituencies of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf and Pankow.
Profile
The district has a large foreign born population of 27.7%, the highest figure for any Berlin constituency The district of WeddingWedding (Berlin)
Wedding is a locality in the borough of Mitte, Berlin, Germany and was a separate borough in the north-western inner city until it was fused with Tiergarten and Mitte in Berlin's 2001 administrative reform...
had the highest foreign born population in all of Berlin. 29.3% of the population had qualifications which met the requirements for University entry.
Electoral system
Elections in Germany take place using the Additional Member SystemAdditional Member System
The Additional Member System is the term used in the United Kingdom for the mixed member proportional representation voting system used in Scotland, Wales and the London Assembly....
. 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 Mitte constituency take place using the First past the post system.
2009 election
Confirmed candidates for 2009 are:-- Eva Högl, SPD
- Christian Burholt, CDU
- Wolfgang Wieland, GRÜNE
- Klaus Lederer, Die Linke
- Kurt Lehner, FDP
- Ralph Boes, Unconditional basic income
2005 election
| Party | Constituency results | List results | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % share | +/- | Votes | % share | +/- | ||
| Social Democratic Party of Germany Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany... |
Jörg-Otto Spiller | 58,445 | 41.9 | +0.6 | ||||
| Christian Democratic Union Christian Democratic Union (Germany) The Christian Democratic Union of Germany is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It is regarded as on the centre-right of the German political spectrum... |
Volker Liepelt | 32,321 | 23.2 | -1.5 | ||||
| Alliance '90/The Greens Alliance '90/The Greens Alliance '90/The Greens is a green political party in Germany, formed from the merger of the German Green Party and Alliance 90 in 1993. Its leaders are Claudia Roth and Cem Özdemir... |
Wolfgang Wieland | 19,375 | 13.9 | +1.1 | ||||
| The Left Party.PDS | Tobias Schulze | 19,271 | 13.8 | +0.9 | ||||
| Free Democratic Party Free Democratic Party (Germany) The Free Democratic Party , abbreviated to FDP, is a centre-right classical liberal political party in Germany. It is led by Philipp Rösler and currently serves as the junior coalition partner to the Union in the German federal government... |
Tim Stuchtey | 5,188 | 3.7 | -1.1 | ||||
| Others | 4,761 | 3.6 | N/A | |||||
Out of a total electorate of 192,321 the total number of votes cast was 142,190 (73.9%) of which 2,829 where invalid.
2002 election
| Party | Constituency results | List results | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % share | Votes | % share | ||
| Social Democratic Party of Germany Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany... |
Jörg-Otto Spiller | 61,166 | 41.3 | |||
| Christian Democratic Union Christian Democratic Union (Germany) The Christian Democratic Union of Germany is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It is regarded as on the centre-right of the German political spectrum... |
Volker Liepelt | 36,578 | 24.7 | |||
| The Left Party.PDS | Stefan Liebich | 19,105 | 12.9 | |||
| Alliance '90/The Greens Alliance '90/The Greens Alliance '90/The Greens is a green political party in Germany, formed from the merger of the German Green Party and Alliance 90 in 1993. Its leaders are Claudia Roth and Cem Özdemir... |
Wolfgang Wieland | 18,949 | 12.8 | |||
| Free Democratic Party Free Democratic Party (Germany) The Free Democratic Party , abbreviated to FDP, is a centre-right classical liberal political party in Germany. It is led by Philipp Rösler and currently serves as the junior coalition partner to the Union in the German federal government... |
Gabriele Heise | 7,157 | 4.8 | |||
| Others | 5,116 | 3.4 | ||||
Out of a total electorate of 201,240, the total number of votes cast was 150,464 (74.8%) of which 2,393 votes were invalid.