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Berlin Neukölln is one of the 299 single member constituencies used for the German parliament, the Bundestag. Located in the south of Berlin, the constituency was created for the 1990 election, the first following German reunification. The first two elections in 1990 and 1994 were won by the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). The constituency was then gained by the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) in 1998 but was one of several Berlin districts which the CDU regained at the 2009 election. The CDU victor in 2009 was Stefanie Vogelsang, a former local councillor for the area. At the 2013 election, Fritz Felgentreu regained the district for the SPD.
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History and boundaries
The constituency, numbered constituency 83 by the German electoral authorities, contains the whole of the Berlin borough of Neukölln. It has been a marginal constituency, being held by the CDU from 1990 to 1998 and from 2009 to the present.
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The district is home to about 300,000 people, around one third of whom are immigrants, mostly concentrated in the northern part of the area around Sonnenallee, one of the main thoroughfares. Most of the immigrants are Muslim, with Turks a prominent ethnic group, and the area contains 20 of Berlin's approximately 80 Mosques.
The number of residents with German citizenship at the end of 2004 was 78.2%, the lowest figure for any constituency in Germany and below the Berlin average of 86.6%. 20.9% of residents had University qualifications. The unemployment rate in 2010 was almost double the average for Berlin, with higher figures for immigrant groups. Parts of the area have also suffered from rising crime, particularly robberies and assaults, which have doubled since 1990.
Electoral system
Elections in Germany take place using the Additional Member System. Voters have two votes, one for a constituency MP and one for a regional list to elect representatives for the whole of Berlin city. Elections for the Neukölln constituency take place using the first past the post system.
2009 election
Out of a total electorate of 197,444, the total number of votes cast was 132,613 (67.2%) of which 3,915 votes were invalid.
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2005 election
Out of a total electorate of 194,781, the total number of votes cast was 144,224 (74.0%) of which 3,625 votes were invalid.
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2002 election
Out of a total electorate of 197,948, the total number of votes cast was 148,765 (75.2%) of which 2,430 votes were invalid.
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