Coalition agreement: SPD members vote on December 16

The SPD members' vote on the coalition agreement with the CDU is to be determined on December 16. The approximately 4,600 party members have until December 15 to cast their votes, according to a spokesperson. The votes will be counted the following day and the results announced in the evening.

If the SPD base approves the agreement, the election of the Prime Minister could take place two days later at the state parliament session on December 18. The necessary change to the agenda is also possible at short notice.

Voting online or by postal vote

According to the spokesperson, voting by the Social Democrats will begin on Friday. The majority of members will then receive an email with a voting link that they can use to cast their vote. Around 1,000 members are called upon to vote by post, either at their own request or because they have not provided an email address. The mailing of the relevant documents begins today. The vote is reportedly anonymous and will be supervised by a notary.

In addition, the SPD state executive committee will meet in the evening to discuss the coalition agreement. However, the start of the members' vote is not dependent on this.

CDU to decide on December 14

The CDU state executive committee will meet on Friday. The Christian Democrats will decide whether to join the coalition at a state party conference on December 14.

The CDU and SPD agreed on a coalition agreement on Wednesday. The two parties had been negotiating the formation of a minority government since mid-November. They are ten votes short of a majority in the state parliament. Black-Red has therefore announced a so-called consultation mechanism with which the opposition - including the AfD - is to be involved in legislative proposals at an early stage.