List dispute - Saalfeld-Rudolstadt district election contested

Local elections with aftermath - List dispute - Saalfeld-Rudolstadt district election contested

Due to the approval of two AfD ballot lists, the district council election in the Saalfeld-Rudolstadt district has been contested. An AfD member filed a timely appeal, stated a spokesperson of the Landesverwaltungsamt, which is responsible for the review of the appeal as the supervisory authority. The deadline for the appeal was July 4th. The Landesverwaltungsamt has until September 20th for review. The new district council can still be constituted, according to the spokesperson. However, if it turns out that the approval was incorrect, a re-run of the district council election is threatened. Previously, MDR had reported on this.

The district election committee Saalfeld-Rudolstadt had approved both an AfD list as well as a list "Alternative for the District" (AfL) - also from AfD members, for the district council election on May 26th. The background is a local dispute in the AfD, which broke out several weeks before the election about a list of candidates for the district council election. The Thuringia AfD state association with its chairman Björn Höcke aimed to have the already created list annulled and a new one established. The candidates refused, however. Eventually, a second, competing AfL list was created, which was supported by AfD state chairman Björn Höcke and received 13.7% of the votes in the district council election. The list with the official AfD name received 18.6% of the votes.

Disciplinary proceedings against several members on the AfD list with Landtag deputy Karlheinz Frosch have been initiated. Frosch himself announced a day after the election that he would leave the party and the Landtag faction.

1. The controversy over the approved AfD and "Alternative for the District" (AfL) lists has led to the contested local elections in the Thuringia district of Saalfeld-Rudolstadt.
2. Following the approval of the AfD list, as well as the "Alternative for the District" list, by the district election committee, the County council in Thuringia's capital, Erfurt, is now facing an aftermath that may require a re-run of the elections.
3. The Saalfeld-RUDOLSTADT municipality's outcome hinges on the final decision made by the Landesverwaltungsamt, as an incorrect approval of the AfD list could lead to a new district council election.
4. Björn Höcke, the chairman of the Thuringia AfD state association, played a significant role in the creation of the competing AfL list, which received a notable percentage of votes in contrast to the official AfD list in the May 26th district council election.
5. The choice of voters in the Thuringia region, particularly in Saalfeld-Rudolstadt, will be dependent on the results of the Landesverwaltungsamt's review, which may ultimately authorize or challenge the outcomes of the recent local elections.

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