Local Governments - The election for mayor of Alpirsbach is deemed invalid.
Sven Christmann, the new mayor of Alpirsbach, is being accused of misleading voters about his suspension as a police officer. The Landratsamt in Freudenstadt has declared the election null and void, and the city of Alpirsbach must hold a new election, it announced on Wednesday. Christmann, a non-partisan police chief who was scheduled to take office on July 1, did not respond to a request for comment.
On his website, he denies being suspended on May 2, claiming "this doesn't align with reality." In response to the election, three objections were raised, and the Landratsamt has received confirmed information that Christmann was prohibited from managing the office in accordance with Section 39 BeamtStG (suspension) before the start of the mayor election process. This deception of voters, the statement says, is significant because it has a direct impact on how citizens cast their ballots and could change the election's outcome.
There were 155 votes that made a difference.
For formal errors, this is considered significant because it directly affects voter behavior. If 155 more people had voted for incumbent Michael Pfaff in the final round in late April, the election would have had a different outcome.
The suspension stems from investigations into possible bribery in the purchase of drying racks for the police. Christmann admitted, "I've never denied that I - along with others - have been investigated." He continued, "Some now demand that I should have made false accusations against myself publicly, even though I know I'm innocent." He'd like to share all the details, but is prevented from doing so due to procedural reasons.
The Landratsamt also found it significant that nine out of ten signatures from declared supporters in Christmann's application documents were missing the crucial statement of which candidate they were supporting for the position of mayor. Therefore, his application was not valid, and he should not have been eligible to participate in the election.
Christmann's website [Link is missing in the original]
Current election results in Alpirsbach [Link is missing in the original]
Current statement on the review [Link is missing in the original]
