Tag: Berlin
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A Mayor Tandem for Berlin
What if Berlin had two Regierende Bürgermeister:innen? One representing the city’s elected voice — and another representing the voice of Berlin’s international residents who live, work and contribute here but do not have German citizenship and therefore cannot vote in Berlin elections. Because in a democratic society, it can’t be right that 25% of the people who live here have no…
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Berlin Wiki: Ways to Influence Politics in Berlin
What is a Volksentscheid? A Volksentscheid, or referendum, allows Berliners to vote directly on proposed legislation and political issues outside regular elections, or to trigger an early election. Anyone who is eligible to vote in elections to the Berlin House of Representatives (Abgeordnetenhaus) is also eligible to take part in a Volksentscheid. A Volksentscheid can only take place after a successful…
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No German Passport? You May Still Have a Vote in Berlin
If you are an EU citizen living in Berlin but do not have German citizenship, you cannot vote in the election for Berlin’s House of Representatives (Abgeordnetenhaus). But you can vote for your local District Assembly (Bezirksverordnetenversammlung, or BVV) if you meet the eligibility requirements. Around 240,000 non-German EU citizens are eligible to take part in Berlin’s BVV elections on September…
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Berlin Wiki: Democracy and the Principles of Free Elections
What Does Democracy Mean? A great deal could be written about what democracy is. Put simply, in a democracy, all state authority is derived from the people. This means that the citizens of a country determine its political direction. Germany is a parliamentary and representative democracy: citizens elect representatives who make decisions on their behalf. These elected members of parliament meet…
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The Signature That Didn’t Count – Finding My Voice in Berlin
When I moved to Berlin in the spring of 2022, I was approached one sunny afternoon by people carrying clipboards under their arms. Would I like to sign a petition? I was pleasantly surprised by this request – such a sense of community in Berlin, what a place to have come to live. With a Spätibier in my hand and surrounded…
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StimmlosTrend: A New Survey Wants to Hear Berlin’s Missing Voices
Can’t vote in Berlin? There are a million people like you. We’re giving them a voice. That’s the message of WahlheYmat’s new StimmlosTrend campaign, which launches today. Modern democracy is built on elections. In Berlin, the House of Representatives is elected every five years by eligible German citizens (EU citizens can only vote in district elections). But Berlin has changed. Today,…
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