Erfurt undergoes major renovations and restructuring - Higher interest in upcoming local elections compared to 2019.
Thuringia's local elections on Sunday drew more attention than in the previous five years. The State Statistical Office stated that, by 4 p.m., 46.2% of eligible voters had already cast their ballots. This percentage doesn't account for those who voted via mail.
In 2019's local and European elections, only 39% of eligible individuals had voted at this time. Voters were tasked with choosing 13 district councillors, 94 mayors, 17 county councils, and over 600 city and municipal councils.
This is the first comprehensive local election since 1994, with direct elections for district councillors, mayors, and mayors. The outcome of this election is anticipated as a preview of the state elections on September 1st.
Eyeing the AfD's success, which has been labeled right-wing extremist by Thuringia's State Office for the Protection of the Constitution, numerous demonstrations took place across Thuringian cities on Saturday. Thousands protested for an open-minded Thuringia and against right-wing extremism. Over 2,000 citizens rallied in Erfurt on the day before the local elections, according to police reports.
Given that no candidate is expected to reach an absolute majority in the first round, run-off elections will be held on June 9th for those positions where no politician achieved more than half of the valid votes cast.
The exact proportion of postal voters wasn't revealed by the state office initially. In Weimar, for instance, the city administration reported an increase in people seeking postal voting documents, compared to the 2019 local elections. Approximately 20% of eligible voters requested these documents, as per their Sunday announcement. The percentage of postal voters will only be evident once the ballots are counted.
Numerous election staff members worked on Sunday. The State Statistical Office didn't report any irregularities, and the police initially stated the same, with no incidents linked to the local elections.
A sudden death occurred outside a school building serving as a polling station in Bad Köstritz (Greiz district). Upon request, the district electoral officer, Yvonne Gensicke, divulged that a voter collapsed and died before reaching the station to vote. The election proceeded without interruption. Further details weren't available at the time. The "Ostthüringer Zeitung" mentioned that a voter fell unconscious in the anteroom of the polling station and subsequently died.
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Source: www.stern.de
