The mayoral election in Homburg advances to its second round.

Local Governments - The mayoral election in Homburg advances to its second round.

Coming up with an alternative way to tell this story:

The mayoral race in Homburg, a district in Saarpfalz, won't call a winner until June 23rd because no candidate secured an absolute majority during the initial round of voting this past Sunday. Two hopefuls - Michael Forster representing CDU and Pascal Conigliaro from SPD - advance to the second round, as per the city's website. Forster got approximately 43% of the votes, and Conigliaro, 19%. The other four contestants are now out. Homburg, home to roughly 44,000 people, saw a voter turnout of about 63%.

Interestingly, Rüdiger Schneidewind, who was temporarily booted out of office in 2019 following allegations of corruption, also threw his hat in the ring as an independent candidate. At first, he didn't want to run, even filing for early retirement in February. However, his request was turned down by the city council, causing him to reverse his decision. Just over 6% of the votes went to Schneidewind. After June 23rd, it's time for him to hang up his mayor's hat - retirement is coming for him on September 30th.

Read also:

The run-off election for the mayoral position in Homburg, a municipality in Saarland, is scheduled for June 23rd due to no candidate obtaining an outright majority in the initial elections held on Sunday. The CDU's Michael Forster and SPD's Pascal Conigliaro will face off in the second round, with Forster earning around 43% of the votes and Conigliaro obtaining approximately 19%. The remaining four candidates were unable to secure enough support. Despite suspicions of corruption leading to his temporary dismissal in 2019, independent candidate Rüdiger Schneidewind still managed to gain over 6% of the ballots cast in the mayoral election. The upcoming run-off election will likely be Schneidewald's final political act, as he has plans to retire as mayor on September 30th. The municipal elections saw a strong turnout from the residents of Homburg, with around 63% casting their votes.

• Tough return to normality in snow and ice
• Steinmeier joined a moment of silence - a legal battle over an AfD protest.
• German national soccer team on their way to participate in the European Championship qualifying matches.
• The flooding has lessened, but the aftermath of mud remains.