Hamburg Parliament elections: high commitment to local democracy, but transparency of political funding could be improved
Hamburg, 03.03.2025 – A ten-member delegation of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, led by David Eray (Switzerland, EPP/CCE), completed a mission to observe the elections for the Bürgerschaft (State Parliament) of Hamburg, Germany, held on 2 March.
On election day, six Congress teams visited over 100 randomly selected polling stations across the city. The teams observed the entire electoral process, from the opening of the polls to the closing and counting of the votes.
Overall, the delegation commended the transparency and professional organisation of the electoral procedures and highly welcomed the level of trust and commitment to local democracy in Hamburg. The election day was calm an orderly and no systematic issues were observed.
“Yesterday’s elections showcased the city vibrant democratic life reflecting a healthy and competitive political environment” stated Head of Delegation David Eray. “The inclusion of women and 16 years old young people in the electoral process highlights Hamburg's commitment to empowering all citizens,” he underlined.
“However, we believe that the transparency of political funding should be improved. The timely reporting of political finance is indispensable for trust, fairness and accountability in elections and democracy, as it is usually recommended by the Congress and was by the Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) in relation to Germany,” added Deputy Head of Delegation Gunes Pehlivan (Türkiye, SOC/G/PD).
This was the first time the Congress observed elections in Hamburg and only the second time in Germany overall. It was preceded by a series of meetings on 28 February and 3 March with representatives of the Hamburg Parliament, the election administration and NGOs and candidates from the parties running in the elections.
The draft report and recommendation will be submitted for adoption at the 49th session of the Congress of the Council of Europe in October 2025.
Upon request of the competent authorities, the Congress observes local and regional elections in Council of Europe member States and sometimes beyond. To date, more than 120 election observation missions have been conducted by the Congress. The observation of local elections is one of the priorities of the Congress's action. It is complementary to the political monitoring process of the European Charter of Local Self-Government, which is the cornerstone of local democracy in Europe.
