Non-party candidate expects lower voter turnout
Before the polling stations closed in the run-off election for the district administration in Dahme-Spreewald, non-party candidate Sven Herzberger was optimistic but also tense. "The responsibility I feel on my shoulders is naturally greater than in the first round of voting," Herzberger told the German Press Agency on Sunday ahead of the decision. What matters now is that there is no AfD district administrator in Dahme-Spreewald in future, but a district administrator who "unites and does not divide". He described himself as an integrating person.
In the run-off election to succeed Stephan Loge (SPD), Zeuthen mayor Herzberger is vying for victory as a non-party candidate and AfD member of parliament Steffen Kotré.
As a far-right party, the AfD would like to build on its success in Sonneberg in Thuringia with its candidate Kotré - where it has the first AfD district councillor in Germany. Kotré himself is counting on previous non-voters, as he told the German Press Agency. "If we manage to get a significant number of non-voters to the polls, then I think we have a good chance."
The non-party candidate Herzberger assumed that fewer people would go to the polls. Initial cautious forecasts could prove him right: According to the election management, 23.2 percent of eligible voters had cast their votes in the run-off election by 2 p.m., according to an initial interim count. By comparison, 28.6 percent had voted in the first round of voting on October 8. "However, I assume that we will achieve the quorum, we have mobilized a lot," said Herzberger, also mayor of Zeuthen.
The polling stations were open until 6.00 pm. Around 147,000 citizens aged 16 and over were called upon to vote.
In an effort to prevent the AfD from gaining control in Dahme-Spreewald, Herzberger emphasized the importance of voting for a unifying district administrator instead of the AfD's divisive candidate. Despite his optimism, Herzberger anticipated a lower voter turnout in the municipal elections.
Source: www.dpa.com
