DW News published this video item, entitled “Olaf Scholz and Armin Laschet both claim mandate to form a new government in post-election speeches” – below is their description.

The first projected results are in for Germany’s 2021 federal election, with the the center-left Social Democrats (SPD) on 25.5%, narrowly ahead of the center-right Christian Democrats and their Bavarian sister party (CDU/CSU) on 24.5%. Both parties have said they want to form the next government. The environmentalist Greens are on course to record their best ever result, headed for around 14% of the vote. The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) were hovering around the 11% mark. The socialist Left party is on 5%.
In such a tight race, coalition possibilities remain unclear. According to these projections, one option is a continuation of the “grand coalition” of the conservative CDU/CSU bloc and the SPD that has governed Germany since 2013. However, with the two biggest parties both vowing to build the next government, Germany could be headed for a three-way coalition for the first time at federal level. Options include a coalition between the CDU/CSU, the Greens and the FDP. Alternatively, the SPD could also seek to partner up with the Greens and the FDP. The election of Germany’s new chancellor by the Bundestag won’t take place until a governing coalition has been formed. This could take months. In the meantime, Angela Merkel will remain in office in a caretaker role.
00:00 Armin Laschet speech
08:10 Annalena Baerbock speech
10:00 Olaf Scholz speech
DW News YouTube Channel

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In This Story: Vote

Voting is a method for a group, such as a meeting or an electorate, in order to make a collective decision or express an opinion usually following discussions, debates or election campaigns. Democracies elect holders of high office by voting. Residents of a place represented by an elected official are called “constituents”, and those constituents who cast a ballot for their chosen candidate are called “voters”. There are different systems for collecting votes, but while many of the systems used in decision-making can also be used as electoral systems, any which cater for proportional representation can only be used in elections.

In smaller organizations, voting can occur in different ways. Formally via ballot to elect others for example within a workplace, to elect members of political associations or to choose roles for others. Informally voting could occur as a spoken agreement or as a verbal gesture like a raised hand or electronically.