Steinmeier was re-elected president of Germany

Frank-Walter Steinmeier was re-elected in the 17th presidential election in Germany. The Federation Council, which consists of 736 deputies from the Bundestag and the same number of delegates determined by the states to elect the President, met in the Paul-Löbe building next to the Bundestag building. Steinmeier was re-elected president, receiving 1,045 of the 1425 valid votes in the first round of the election, conducted under the direction of Baerbel Bas, President of the Bundestag. In the vote, in which 1437 delegates participated and 12 votes were deemed invalid, Max Otte, the candidate of the anti-Islam and anti-immigrant AfD, received 140 votes, the Left Party candidate Gerhard Trabert 96, and the Free Voters' candidate Stefanie Gebauer 58 votes, with 86 abstentions.

In the speech made before the election, the Ukraine crisis also came to the fore

In his speech before the election, President of the Federal Assembly Bas, pointing out that large-scale strict measures were taken in these elections to protect against Covid-19, said, "Nothing is normal these days." Noting that the virus has spread, Bas noted that the pandemic is a threat, especially to sick and weak people. Bas stated that many things that united society were lost in the polarization caused by the pandemic, and explained that many people lost trust in government institutions. Insisting that the atmosphere in the country was affected by this, Bas called on the people to be brave in the difficult conditions of Covid-19. Referring to the Ukraine crisis, Bas reminded us that the situation in Ukraine has developed in a way that was unthinkable a short time ago, and that many countries, including Germany, called on their citizens to leave Ukraine. Bas called for the preservation of peace, "Let's use all the means of diplomacy to avoid the danger of war. Every war has only losers." he said.

Famous names also voted

Many famous names, determined by the state assemblies, were also voted on by the delegates in the elections. Among the voters were former Chancellor Angela Merkel, co-founder of the BioNTech company that developed the Covid-19 vaccine, Dr.Özlem Türeci, German National Team Coach Hansi Flick, Bayern Munich football player Leon Goretzka, Chemistry Nobel Prize winner Benjamin List, and Astronaut Alexander Gerst took part. Kadir Sancı, one of the responsibles of the "House of One" project, which Turkey reacted to due to the inclusion of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization, also took part in the religious ceremony held before the elections.