Die Linke wins Berlin election with 25.7% as CDU-SPD coalition loses majority

Die Linke secures first place

Die Linke placed first in the Berlin state election on 20 September 2026, receiving 25.7% of the vote according to preliminary results released by the state electoral administration after all ballots were counted. The result represents more than double the 12.2% the party obtained during the 2023 repeat election, providing the party with its highest vote share in a Berlin state parliament vote. Lead candidate Elif Eralp, a 45-year-old jurist with Turkish roots, placed housing policy and rent limits at the center of her platform throughout the campaign. Following the result, Eralp expressed her aim to lead the city-state government and announced that she would seek exploratory coalition talks with Alliance 90/The Greens and the SPD. In a post-election interview with public broadcaster ARD, Eralp also confirmed plans to implement the socialization of private housing corporations, adding that the legal and organizational process would require extended time.

Governing coalition loses majority

The election results eliminated the governing parliamentary majority previously held by the coalition of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Social Democratic Party (SPD) in the Red City Hall. The CDU placed second with 18.8% of the vote, marking a decline from the 28.2% it received in 2023. The party had undergone a leadership change during the campaign, with Stefan Evers taking over as lead candidate in July after Governing Mayor Kai Wegner faced criticism regarding a tennis tournament affair and the management of a grid infrastructure attack. Evers indicated that discussions regarding potential government configurations would start immediately.

We are always in talks with one another. In that respect, talks will take place in the next few days on how to deal with the results.

Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz called the performance an acceptable result given the circumstances, stating that Evers took over the candidacy in a difficult environment without tailwinds from federal politics.

SPD and direct constituency races

The SPD registered 12.1% of the vote, dropping from 18.4% in 2023 and recording its lowest vote share in Berlin state elections. The party also experienced heavy losses across individual local races, securing only one of the 78 direct constituency mandates up for election across the capital. Lars Düsterhöft, 44, retained his seat in the Treptow-Köpenick 3 constituency by winning 26% of first-preference votes, narrowly holding off Fabian Ulrich of Die Linke. Düsterhöft described sustained local constituent engagement as the factor that allowed him to defy the broader citywide decline. The outcome continues a downward trajectory in direct representation for the SPD, which had secured four direct mandates in 2023 and 25 direct mandates in the 2021 election.

Parliamentary distribution and list results

Behind the top two parties, the Alternative for Germany (AfD) placed third overall with 16.3% of the vote, followed by Alliance 90/The Greens in fourth place with 14.3%. AfD lead candidate Kristin Brinker, who has served in the state parliament since 2016 and led the parliamentary group since 2021, missed winning a direct constituency seat in Steglitz-Zehlendorf 1. Brinker secured 9.3% of first-preference votes to finish in fifth place, an increase from the 5.3% she obtained in 2023, while securing her parliamentary return via the party list. The Steglitz-Zehlendorf 1 direct mandate was won by Tonka Wojahn of the Greens with 24.6% of the vote, finishing 0.3 percentage points ahead of CDU candidate Claudia Wein, who had previously won the constituency in 2023 with more than 30% of the vote.