Facts
On November 28, 2004, the election of the Municipal Council (Executive) for the term of office 2005-2008 took place in the City of Bern. According to the protocol of the City Chancellery, the Red-Green-Center list obtained three seats on the Municipal Council based on the total number of list votes. On this list, Regula Rytz ranked third with 20,606 votes, while Alec von Graffenried ranked fourth with 20,587 votes. The Municipal Council took note of the report of the City Chancellery on the Municipal Council election on December 1, 2004 and rejected the request of the Green Free List (GFL) for a recount. Thereupon, Bruno Studer and co-participants as well as another voter filed an electoral complaint and a municipal complaint with the Government Representative of Bern and demanded a recount of the ballot papers. The Government Representative dismissed the complaints, as did the Cantonal Government of Bern. Against this decision of the Cantonal Government, Bruno Studer and co-participants have filed a constitutional appeal with the Federal Court.Considerations
The Federal Court upholds the appeal. It states that the mere fact of a close election result alone does not constitute a claim for a recount. However, if there are concrete indications of irregularities in the counting procedure and a very close election outcome, the eligible voters can, based on Art. 34 para. 2 of the Federal Constitution, have a claim for a recount. In the present…